The Crypt of Malkuth

(WARNING – MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS)

I'm sitting in the Absinthe bar, writing these notes. I know who are the men in the black robes, the Followers of Malkuth, and why are they here. And I think I know more about the nature of the Babbage beast already, although I still have no clue about how to get rid of it. But first things first.

Shortly after Mr. Blindside disappeared, his satchel was found near the excavation site. It contained several letters from a man named Frederic Von Battersby to Mr. Blindside, mentioning the old crypt of Malkuth under Cobblestone street, the same place where poor Willard Steamweaver provided his experiments and which I visited already last year during the search for information about The 13 Club, and a document from Van Creed archives (signed as „The Light“). It seems there was another, old excavation site in Clockhaven, with some interesting finds about the Order of Malkuth. I decided to explore both of these sites.

The crypt under Cobblestone street was my fist choice, since I was already familiar with the place. The Steamweaver's laboratory was still there, untouched, even the old phonograph cylinders with his recordings were still on their place. But something terrible must have happened recently – two coffins were open, empty. I thought it was a case of a grave robbery at first... but I was wrong, as I understood later.

I managed to open the third coffin (although I had to consult the Babbage library first), very well aware it could be me this time who could be accused of grave robbery. There was a body of a man (it's hard to tell, it must be several hundreds of years old) covered with a large shield. I thought it's a dead end this time, since I had no idea who the dead man could be, but only by a happy accident I found something which led me later to the grave of poor Helen, to understanding where the Babbage beast came from, and who are the Followers of the Malkuth...