Unsuccessful attempts to fall asleep... Perhaps you should explore the mansion at night.

You try to fall asleep again...

Vague, gloomy images from dreams again disturb your tired mind.

After all, Thornwood Hall is a very... very "special" place...

You probably won't be able to get a good night's sleep tonight.

Thunder rumbles outside the window...

You get out of bed, carefully removing Lily's graceful and gentle hand from your shoulder.

Your beloved continues to sleep peacefully.

You take a few steps and carefully pull back the curtains, looking out the window.

Lightning flashes in the black, gloomy night sky...

Silhouettes of forest trees swaying in the strong wind...

The moon is hidden by bushy, dark, leaden clouds.

No stars are visible in the night sky.

This environment, which personifies the all-consuming ancient darkness.

You shudder slightly, feeling the dark and mystical atmosphere of this place, which surrounds you from all sides.

Your thoughts: “Well… Insomnia and bad dreams prevent me from sleeping… I should probably take a walk around the mansion now… I should inspect this place to see if there are any threats to Lily here… Perhaps, in a couple of days, I should suggest that she leave this strange place… The idea of ​​Lily going with me to the village of Bleakford may turn out to be quite reasonable… We will live happily in my parents’ house… I will introduce her to my mom and dad and my brothers and sisters…”

Thoughts about a possible calm and happy future in your mind contrast with the surroundings of this gloomy mansion.

Perhaps you are simply trying to maintain your composure with such thoughts.

After you got dressed, you opened the bedroom door a little and went out into the dark corridor.

A loud clap of thunder…

You almost jumped out of your seat in surprise…

The windows in the vast corridor are not tightly curtained…

Therefore, due to the moonlight and the reflections of lightning, there is minimal visibility in this corridor, which is necessary for you to move carefully.

You move forward…

Exploring the dark corridors and rooms of an old and mysterious mansion at night…

It sounds like a rash act.

However, you continue to take steps forward.

Probably, your curiosity, your desire to ensure the safety of Lily and your opinion of your own strength are all factors that prompt you to do things that a more cowardly person would consider completely unacceptable.

After a couple of dozen minutes of wandering through the dark corridors, stairs and rooms, you notice something.

The door of one of the rooms.

A light,which is stable and clearly of artificial origin, shines through the crack between this door and the floor.

You approach the door slowly and carefully, trying not to knock over anything (it would be very stupid if you knocked over a chair or knocked over a vase - and thereby attracted unwanted attention).

This door... is not closed.

You open the door, expecting to see something shocking...

However, contrary to your expectations, the gloomy atmosphere of the mansion and the frightening images of dreams - inside this room you see only a large room filled with many cabinets.

The dim light of an electric table lamp illuminates the room.

Cabinets, on the shelves of which there are many books.

In the center of the room there is a large wooden table and an armchair.

There are also a couple of small chairs.

A large shaggy carpet on the floor.

There are also many books on the table.

And there are also many strange things on the table.

You come closer and examine these things.

Something is made of metal. Something of glass. Something of materials unknown to you.

These things look like research scientific equipment.

Unfortunately, you are not very knowledgeable about such fields of activity. You cannot even understand the specific purpose of any of these devices.

You think with displeasure: "Damn! Will I really not be able to understand what kind of mysterious, dark threat hangs over this mansion? And I'll just have to go back to the bedroom?!"

For ten minutes you look around the room...

It seems to be fine...

However, suddenly you notice strange, barely visible traces of someone's movement...

The carpet is dented (it looks like traces in a certain direction...), scratches on one of the cabinets, one of the chairs is lying on the floor as if someone was in a hurry and accidentally dropped this chair.

It looks like someone was walking in a hurry in the direction of...

Towards the wall?!

You see that there is one exit from the library.

But these traces do not lead to the door.

The traces simply lead to the wall...

You come close to this wall.

The touch of your fingers on the stone wall does not have any effect.

You continue to feel the space of the wall for another five minutes...

Finally, your finger touches some small detail (like a hidden lever) between the wall and the bookcase on the right.

The grinding of hidden mechanisms.

Your surprised gaze sees how part of the wall shifts.

In front of you is a passage into darkness.

After hesitating for a few seconds, you go there, trying to suppress the growing fear.

After a long and careful descent down the stairs in absolute darkness (you had to go by touch), you reach a small room, which is dimly lit by a small strange lamp that is built into the ceiling.

There is a metal door in this room.

And in the wall, next to this door, there is a large button.

You come closer to the door and press the button.

The metal door opens automatically.

You go inside.

The metal door closes and the elevator automatically goes down.

This takes quite a long time.

Into what dark depths are you descending?!