Hendrick's quest- the lost machines

In an alternative XIX century, mad scientists do whatever they please with often self-destructing results of their own experiments. Pirates roam the sky on airships stolen from the military and harass caravans. Something explodes in cities every day, and the destruction of the capital by giant robots is included in the budget. This is the world where Alexander Sokolov finds a huge mechanical dragon and a talking energy crystal in the caves under his hometown.