Мафия 13. Inanimate Paradise

IX

The Chosen Road of Uncertainty

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The decision had been handed down. It had not come easily, but still, the choice had been made. The hands of Wedma's were bound in bracelets, preventing her from resisting in any way. The furnace of spirits awaited her, where many more souls were languishing....
Pandora watched all this somewhat distantly; it seemed her unlife was even more miserable: “I am not I...” she kept repeating.... soon her silhouette vanished between the houses.
Ple-Sen and Hermit, stood admiring the sunset... dusky whitish clouds wrapped the sky...
“That is all...” Hermit remarked categorically. “The days of pain sang... sang to me of the end... But can it really be like this? I am ruin...”
“No... this is a new beginning,” Ple-Sen interrupted his fellow sufferer. “We need to raise a storm.... Overturn the old order... We are the makers of our own fate; this town is our fortress...” The kindred souls looked around: at the half-ruined abode, the mausoleum, the gloomy fortress... The echoes of the bell carried far... A night mare vanished into the darkness....

…Vegtam meanwhile, having been captured by demons, passed through all nine circles of hell; his name became a scourge to demons... Tearing apart the chains of slavers, carrying out sabotage, sowing discord among rulers, he was both at the very bottom and at the summit... In his travels he met WhiteLizard’a in the mines, who had worked his way up from slave to overseer. Power was always drawn to him, or he to it... A different fate awaited Wedm’y: after drinking poison, she escaped the fate of languishing among the other restless dead; unfortunately, her authority was shaken, and together with intrigues, her fate became tied to a miner’s pick... Drnik and crabby escaped with Vegtam, who freed them from the theater of pain, a famous place of pain, hatred, and doom.... Unfortunately, they fell during the escape; only Gur helped Vegtam find a way out of the sinners’ labyrinth, lighting the path ahead for him...
Meanwhile Pandora became a pilgrim: her unlife was reduced to preaching salvation. She visited the infernal scorched lands, was captured and brought to Azazel’s court, where she amazed those present with her faith. Fearing her like incense smoke, they released the girl and gave generous gifts, which Pandora, of course, refused; only the mirror with the doomed soul inside it became her faithful companion. Kash advised Pandora and generously showered the girl with compliments: “Who is fairest in the world, who is loveliest and wisest... why, Pandora of course...”

Over time, the town of the restless dead rose in stature: two co-rulers made the town more beautiful, a business center appeared, and many souls came from all worlds to trade. Only the harsh law stating that anyone who stayed more than three days stayed forever contributed to the growth of the citizenry and to freer trade... The town changed; the only reminders of past events were the occasional mirages of Xostor’a and Ta kotoraya…, whose souls were so close to the town that it did not release them, leaving them in its heart...

The Oracle began keeping chronicles, and on their pages shelter was found by Brackman, Arandor,Wesker, Naira Drake.... The traces of their souls were built into the wall surrounding the town.
Soon the town suffered several attacks: first infernal hordes crushed its walls, and in response the archangels came forth. There was a great slaughter beneath its walls, because of which the furnaces were opened: thousands of souls of murderers and maniacs broke free, sowing discord; among them was Tieru, who commanded this band. Soon his name became known everywhere: he thirsted for revenge and wanted to shackle Vegtam in chains. Incidentally, Vegtam visited the town several times, bringing losses to the co-rulers and sowing chaos... He swore that one day he would retake the fortress and give freedom to those he had freed...

I

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**The newspaper title, like the little eye, is introductory in nature, created for the atmosphere of the inanimate paradise, despite recalled guesses about this picture’s special role**

WhiteLizard’s fear and anxiety could be seen from afar

NA - one of many (there was a frequent mistake in the NA description by Witch and Xostor; for them it appeared as the act of the banshee. I agree, fear is her attribute, but here I was pointing to one of many as a terrifying creature preparing to eat anything that moves; the banshee was described differently...)

which contrasted with Kash’s grandeur and self-confidence: he managed to slip on the bridge without falling into the abyss

NA - banshee (so here we finally reach the description of her NA: the emphasis is mostly on the 50% survival ability, and therefore self-confidence and a lucky landing are described)

Xostor trudged behind everyone, while his aura shimmered mysteriously: pieces of life-giving light covered him...

NA - will-o’-the-wisp

In the sky, or rather in what passed for it, the walkers saw a radiance: the spreading light resembled a winding stairway of life, cutting the sky in two.

NA - Wesker’s ascension
Clue (B): Arandor. It is a bit twisted in my opinion, but in short: on Areg’s user page there is the song “scar tissue”, translated as scar. The words “stairway of life” point to a scar by analogy with the life line, which is essentially a mark on the skin, and “cutting in two” points to the sharp features of this life line

The Prophet merely said briskly: “And I warned you! Another one lost.... Now he is there!” The oracle meaningfully raised his bony finger upward...

a hint that what was described above was an ascension

Soon the procession approached what was Vegtam’s refuge in this town of the doomed: beneath his feet were scorched sand, the blurred trace of a chain, and traces of ectoplasm...

Chain - soul eater
Traces of ectoplasm - remains of a poltergeist

said Wedma as she approached. She looked unwell: there were traces of stitches on her hands.... only there were no wounds

NA - treatment by the quick-stitcher (unsuccessful)

showing Vegtam and pieces of a broken mirror

NA - phantom (the description is like this because he watches the victim, and the best way to watch is from cover. The mirror has a mystical role as a portal to another world, so the phantom simply peeks out of the mirror at the victim)

things were scattered all over the house, chains hung from the chandelier, and the table was overturned

NA - poltergeist

“Just look more closely and make it out! I myself wanted good for people and would have done hundreds, thousands of good deeds instead of this one stupidity, not even stupidity, but simply an awkwardness, since the whole idea was not at all as stupid as it now seems after failure... (After failure everything seems stupid!) With this stupidity I only wanted to put myself in an independent position, take the first step, obtain means, and then everything would have been smoothed over by immeasurable, comparatively speaking, benefit... But I, I could not even endure the first step, because I am a scoundrel! That is the whole point! And still I will not look through your eyes: if I had succeeded, they would have crowned me, but now I am in the trap!”

The Prophet’s speech: Tieru. The text is taken from “Crime and Punishment”; the clue was in the text, not in the title, and described Tieru’s avatar, where a white fluffy creature, a kitten, was reproaching itself and calling itself mafia. It is the same in the text: Raskolnikov says that he wanted good, but is a scoundrel.

revealing a flooded floor: its foundation was burned out, the walls were also charred, streams of water poured from the ceiling, washing away the only little island here, a table covered with caustic slime; those present slipped out of the house, and steam with them.

Clue: Tieru. His address says “Isle of the Mist Dragon”, so the climate of this island was described: everything around is flooded, streams of water, then there is talk of an islet and of slime as one of the waste products of mist dragons, while steam is an analogy for mist.

a half-eaten, half-burned cake: on top there was grated chocolate and cocoa, the consistency suggested condensed milk, and at the summit of this work of art was a real pearl pressed against a chocolate triangle; behind the pearl, chocolate was smeared in the shape of two trapezoids. The rest had been eaten.

Clue: Vegtam. The clue is difficult and somewhat twisted. On Veg’s user page there are two ravens, while the pastry described above is a raven’s wing. The text mentions its composition and the drawing (what didn’t the townspeople draw!). In fact: the pearl is the eye, the triangle is the beak, and the chocolate blurred into trapezoids is what used to be the wings.

Hermit came out behind everyone. A strange feeling pursued him: it seemed to him that he should have been in Drnik’s place....

NA: rebellious soul (demons)
NA list:
1 Rebellious Soul demons: Drnik
2 One of Many WhiteLizard
3
4 Will-o’-the-wisp Xostor
5 Phantom Vegtam
6 Banshee Kash
7 Poltergeist Vegtam
8
9 Soul Eater Hermit, crabby
10
11 Archangel Wesker
12
13
14 Quick-Stitcher Wedma

II

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**The newspaper title and picture speak of the successes of the RS, directing the mafia like puppets**

....The entire staircase and the thistle bushes were strewn with feathers of immaculate purity belonging to Wesker; all around stood the oppressive smell of burnt feathers

Description: role - guardian angel

as well as lava from several volcanoes that burst through beneath Wedma’s doors

Clue: Vegtam. His address is Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and the city’s coat of arms has three volcanoes

hidden among the dry branches was a precious attribute of might, covered with a scattering of diamonsquare crystals......

Clue: Ta kotoraya... Tanya’s profile has a prize: a crown with diamonds. To make it less obvious, power was replaced with might, and diamonds with their analogue, cubic zirconia.

At the noise of those present, Wedma jumped out, throwing pieces of broken mirrors out the window....

NA - phantom

The oracle approached: “Born to scream cannot fly,” he dropped the phrase...

Revealing Wesker’s previous role: banshee

Soon the procession approached what was Vegtam’s refuge in this town of the doomed: beneath his feet were scorched sand, the blurred trace of a chain, and traces of ectoplasm...

on the road they met Xostor, whose mouth was sewn shut with tight threads

NA - treatment by the quick-stitcher (unsuccessful)

on the road they met Xostor, whose mouth was sewn with tight threads in the shape of a smile...

NA - rebellious soul (angels)

they reached WhiteLizard’s mausoleum

Role description: mausoleum ~ prosperity ~ power ~ wraith

inside it smelled of sulfur

Role description: murder by infernal spawn, gathering slaves for work in the mines

there lay a folio cast from spectral steel, dented by a blow from a blunt object; notably, the pages were scratched by a blade whose shape resembled an arc....

Clue: Brackman. His profile has the words “specter of communism”, so everything is cast from spectral steel, and the objects are symbols of the Communist Party: the folio is a book, the blunt object is a hammer, and the arc-shaped blade is a sickle

“You must know that there are two ways of fighting an enemy: first, by law; second, by force. The first way belongs to man, the second to the beast; but because the first is often insufficient, one must resort to the second. From this it follows that ‘He’ must learn what is contained in the nature of both man and beast...”.

The oracle’s speech: Brackman. His profile has many words about the emperor, so a quote from Machiavelli is given. In place of “He” should be sovereign/ruler; after the ellipsis, his work explained that the ruler must combine the lion and the fox.

The residents went out, and Hermit, sprinkled from head to toe with glittering pollen, came toward them.

NA: will-o’-the-wisp
“Look not at the life line, but at its essence!”
A hint at the first-day clue, that the life line should be approached differently.
NA list:
1 Rebellious Soul angels: Witch
2 One of Many Witch
3
4 Will-o’-the-wisp Hermit
5 Phantom Wedma
6
7
8
9
10
11
12 Guardian Angel-2 Xostor
13
14 Infernal Spawn WhiteLizard
15 Quick-Stitcher Xostor

III

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**The newspaper title and picture say that it is time for the townspeople to decide whom to hang.

the residents found Xostor at home, gathering the remnants of mirrors

NA - Phantom

but the smile remained: it conveyed the joy that, despite all adversity, fate, or someone else, arranges doom differently

NA - Rebellious Soul (hell)

Light! It was so close! Its radiance! It is mesmerizing! There is nothing better than light! Pollen!!! Wisp! Where are you going! Where!!! Expecting to meet the oracle, the residents saw only Tieru

NA: will-o’-the-wisp

Nearby was a nicked sword

Role description: infernal spawn

beneath her feet was a little pile of sand, on which a complex drawing had been made, consisting of many details assembled into one whole by an unknown will..

Side clue from hell: “a metaphor for the Imperium united by Lord Commander Solar Macharius”

Soon the procession approached what was Vegtam’s refuge in this town of the doomed: beneath his feet were scorched sand, the blurred trace of a chain, and traces of ectoplasm...

there were also many small pockmarks on the floor

Clue: Vegtam. His avatar shows a girl in stilettos; the pockmarks were left by them

as well as a figurine of a girl holding fire in one hand

Clue: Ta kotoraya... Her address is Veliky Novgorod; by its form of government it used to be a republic, hence the connection to freedom and, accordingly, the Statue of Liberty, which holds fire

the silence was broken by Kash bursting in. His face had been renewed; only here and there traces of stitches showed through.

NA: quick-stitcher (successful)
NA list
1 Rebellious Soul demons: Witch
2 One of Many Witch
3
4 Will-o’-the-wisp Tieru
5 Phantom Xostor
6
7
8
9
10
11 Archangel Kash
12
13
14 Infernal Spawn Xostor
15 Quick-Stitcher Kash