House of Death

The House of Death (Жилище смерти) is the home of Death. It is part of a legend that states that when Death comes to Town he needs a place to rest and does so in an abandoned house.

The House of Death appears in Pathologic 2 and The Marble Nest. It is not present in Pathologic.

Pathologic 2
The House of Death is located in the Crude Sprawl as it is the place that has seen the greatest number of deaths due to the First Outbreak. It appears as an infected home and is covered in the same lesions homes in infected districts are plagued with.

The Marble Nest
While never named "The House of Death" in the Pathologic: The Marble Nest, there is a heavily guarded home in The Atrium that acts as the home of Death itself. Other than the presence of a soldier, the exterior of the house appears to be identical to other homes in the Atrium. However, the inside of the house bears a striking resemblance to Neck 3.

Pathologic 2
"Death found himself a home in the Crude Sprawl. It sounds like an urban legend, but where there's smoke, there's fire."

- Haruspex's map hover

Day 3
On the evening of Day 3, Notkin and Khan are found in the Broken Heart. They are planning to find and enter a house that they refer to as the "House of Death". They are following the legend of Death's home. It is said that when Death comes to Town he takes an abandoned home to rest in, returning to it at midnight. It is said that if one was to enter the home before midnight and either stay until dawn or light candles Death would be stalled, saving the people nearby from his touch. The individual who does so is supposed to become immortal upon doing so, though the two boys are sceptical of that part of the story. Notkin and Khan believe that although the legend is clearly just a fictional tale there may be a grain of truth to it as "when there's smoke, there's fire". The Haruspex may attempt to deter the pair from their dangerous adventure but, regardless of the Haruspex's actions, the two will find the House of Death in the Crude Sprawl.

If the Haruspex follows them into the House of Death the door will lock behind him. He will find Notkin and Khan upstairs by a collection of candles. Following the story, the Haruspex tells the pair to stay where they are and goes to light the six candles dotted around the house. Each candle requires a match to be lit, and will glow if the player holds the "focus" button. More than enough matches can be found throughout the house's cabinets, which are best looted before the engaging with the boys (and thus starting the event). While searching for the candles, the Haruspex will be chased by the face of Death who moves along the walls accompanied by the scratching of wood. Should the face of Death reach the Haruspex, he will take significant immunity damage and, if unchecked, become infected. The face of Death can, however, be stalled by looking directly at it as Death will not move while it is being viewed.

With the six candles lit the door unlocks and the Haruspex is able to leave the house. Otherwise he will remain locked inside until dawn on Day 4.

Day 4
If the Haruspex fails to enter the House of Death before the end of Day 3, then the event will be voided, the Crude Sprawl district will become infected, and Khan will remain in the Polyhedron until Day 10. Conversely, if he manages to enter the house before the end of Day 3, then the Crude Sprawl will be spared, and Khan will permanently move into the Nutshell when the event concludes at 07:30 on Day 4.

Regardless of how the event panned out, or if it was engaged at all, Notkin will become infected on Day 4 without a midnight roll. Alongside his proximity to Patches, it is possible that it may have been his visit to the House of Death that caused his infection.

Pathologic: The Marble Nest
"This house is heavily guarded. Something's going on in there."

- Bachelor's map hover

At midday the Bachelor is able to find a soldier stationed outside of an otherwise normal looking home by Aspity's residence, Dusk 1. The soldier stationed outside asks the Bachelor if he is here to inspect the strange home. When the Bachelor inquires as to why the tenants of the house no longer live there the soldier responds that he doesn't know, only that there appears to be something scary inside.

As the Bachelor enters, the door locks behind him and he will find a Tragedian standing by the doorway. The Tragedian tells him that in order to leave, the Bachelor must find himself and, in the process, face death. Though he cannot defeat death, he is able to move forward beyond it.

In order to escape the house, the Bachelor must search through the house to find a dead patrolman who holds the Key to a downstairs door, subtly replaying the events of his earlier dream in Neck 3. Once the door is opened the Bachelor will find only a coffin with a Pocket Watch inside. While doing so, the Bachelor will be chased by the face of Death who moves along the walls accompanied by the sound of scratching wood. The face can be stalled by looking directly at it. If this is not done and the Bachelor is caught by Death his immunity rapidly decreases and, upon falling to infection, he will die, waking up in a graveyard deep in the Steppe.

Once the Bachelor finds the coffin and takes the pocket watch, the house will transform, returning to normality and allowing the Bachelor to leave.

Gallery
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