Danse Macabre

Mo asks you to keep the carnival crowd from jostling Frances, and Maxine warns you to keep your masks on; all of the Venice gangs are out. She apologises for bringing you here, but she needs your help to locate the source of the sickness. The carnival tonight should provide cover. Frances is just glad to have found Maxine after months travelling across Europe. Mo asks about Maxine's mysterious contact who helped her escape Valmont. She says she got a printed note with instructions on how to find a cache of supplies when she first escaped Valmont, but she still has no idea who they are. Valmont may have eyes in the City too; he's certainly been tracking Maxine, and blocking the signal to Amelia. You're nearly in Mala territory. Run!

While the city looks beautiful tonight, it isn't always like this. The City is divided into gang territories and not all of them take care of their people. Maxine knows the plague is connected to Valmont; when the buboes are fully developed, there's a v-shaped lesion in them. She thinks Venice was a test of his panacea which went wrong. She explains how the founding of epidemiology came from John Snow (no, not that John Snow. No, not the newsreader either) tracing a cholera outbreak in London to a single water pump. Maxine has been mapping the spread of the plague and she thinks she's located the well which is the source. It's in Mala territory though. She needs a sample so her contact can hopefully synthesise a cure. You need to move quickly to avoid being recognised by the Mala guards.

The Doge's palace is ahead, lit up with lanterns and candles, and filled with performers and music. Maxine thinks the well in the centre of the courtyard is the culprit. Frances is concerned and thinks she recognises the music. A dancer knocks her mask off and she's recognised. Quick, into the palace!

The Mala are right behind you! You hide in a room and the Mala run past. Maxine thinks this might be the old prison. Frances apologises; she feels like she's seen this all before. She wants to keep moving. There are lights ahead, and while this place should be abandoned, you seem to be running through a laboratory. Right under the plague well.

There are cells, and one of them contains a zombie wearing a labcoat, with green goo leaking out of its eyes. Maxine thinks it could be the plague in a post-mortem stage. Mo finds a telegram speaking about 'stage one infection'. It seems Maxine was right and this is the source. There are pipes leading from a container of plague goo upstairs, and Valmont's V symbol on everything. You disconnect the pipes, and grab some samples, but the cell doors open and release the zombies. Run!

You're lost and the zombies haven't given up. You hear music ahead, and Frances recognises it. The music and the dancers with their masks, it reminds her of dreams she had when she lives on the Far Hebrides. Is this connected to the Red God? There's no red fungus here, but there was mould growing in the plague tank. Follow the music!

You climb a ladder and escape the zombies. You need to take the sample to her contact. They should have a car waiting at the edge of the city with a map to their location. Maxine can't leave Venice. She removes her mask to reveal that she is infected with the plague. Frances decides that she is staying too. She worked on Dearg for a long time and is familiar with the red fungus. She'll stay at least until the fresh water runs out. Mo will take the samples to Maxine's contact and bring back a cure.