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1[[foldercontrol]]
2
3[[folder:Fallen London]]
4!!Doubt Street
5
6->"You're going to be rummaging around in the secrets of the mighty anyway. You might as well have an excuse and a method of publication to hand."
7
8->"Your morning ritual demands a newspaper of quality, even if you have to write it yourself."
9
10->'''Making the Truth'''\
11Newsprint, ink and journalists are unimportant. What matters is what people think, and you'll make sure that they're thinking the right things.
12
13!!The Flit
14
15->'''Rob the Bazaar'''\
16Now, that is just the height of foolishness. Everyone knows that it is impossible to steal from the glittering black spires of the Bazaar.\
17'''They know nothing.'''\
18The vigilant Constables and numberless neddy men. The endless flocks of wheeling bats. The smooth towers carved with symbols that make your eyes bleed and hair smoulder. Do these things mean nothing to you?
19
20!!Ladybones Road
21
22->'''A Smith's Cellar?'''\
23The smith shrugs. "His money's good." It would be. Devils' money is usually good.
24
25!!Mrs Plenty's Most Distracting Carnival
26
27->"''Pay'' for tickets to the carnival? Oh ho! How droll you are. The very idea!"
28
29!!The Shuttered Palace
30
31->'''Call in favours at the Shuttered Palace'''\
32The cellars of the Shuttered Palace overflow. In some cases, literally. In some of those cases, wine. If you choose to ask a boon, some of it may be yours. You have earned a little present.
33
34!!Opportunity Cards
35
36->'''A candid discussion with a devil?'''\
37'The effects [of losing one's soul]? Well, nothing one would really notice. A little depression of mood. A pleasing melancholy here and there. Perhaps a lessening in appreciation of beauty. But does not beauty cause so much of the world's difficulties? Look at these things - the contents of pockets and such. The detritus of spirifage. Are they beautiful? No. But they have value nonetheless.'
38
39[[/folder]]
40
41[[folder:Places of Menace]]
42!!A slow boat passing a dark beach on a silent river
43
44->[Dying feels] like going to sleep. If going to sleep really hurt.
45
46->'''A moment of pettiness'''\
47The Boatman hisses as he topples his king with a bony knuckle. "Enjoy it while it lasts," he growls. "You're all of you mine in the end."
48
49!!A state of some confusion
50
51->'''You have lost your mind!'''\
52Don't panic. You may be able to get it back. In the meantime, everything is gold and red and marvelous.
53
54->'''What were you looking for?'''\
55D--ned if you can remember. Were you even meant to be looking for something? Unlikely. It's teatime and there are three kinds of jam today.
56
57->'''You are yourself again.'''\
58You would no longer be considered insane by most citizens of Fallen London. A dubious comfort.
59[[/folder]]
60
61[[folder:Characters]]
62!!The Duchess
63
64->"[[spoiler:In the deepest matters of the Bazaar, always look to love. Always.]]"
65
66!!The Relickers
67
68->'''Capering Relicker''': Let's play a game of dice. If you win, I'll give you my cherries. If I win, I get to hit you with a stick.
69->'''The Curt Relicker''': This pickle fork was used in the assassination of... actually, no, I never said that. I'll just certify these and be on my way.
70->'''The Curt Relicker''': Wait! I can see the code here. Well, almost. Monty, get the books! We decrypt!
71->'''The Shivering Relicker''': Don't let [the Night-Whisper] near the Co... the language of Xanadu. Keep it away from the Bazaar spires, and the ruins of previous cities. Altogether too dangerous to take it there. It will talk back. You understand? It will talk back.
72
73-> The Capering Relicker takes your scraps and with a great heave, throws them in the river. Next, he grabs Gulliver, and runs down the riverside holding the distressed rat above his head. Let's hope Gulliver can swim.
74
75[[/folder]]
76
77[[folder:Ambitions]]
78!!Light Fingers
79
80->[[spoiler:''You've moved to a new area: [[BuriedAlive A small, velvet lined box]]. You can't see anything. You have just enough space to twist onto your belly or your back. [[NightmareFuel Oh dear God. Oh dear God.]]'']]
81[[/folder]]
82
83[[folder:Stories]]
84!!Recalling A Dream of Other Places
85
86->'''A dream of a vineyard'''\
87"There was kind of a sun...and the light that flooded the vineyard was thick as honey and red as port wine. We waited for the sun to speak, but it only watched us in sorrow. I knew then that ''it'' was waiting for ''us''. As I woke, I thought that its light lingered somehow in my eyes..."
88
89!!On the Velocipede Squad
90
91->Someone has been robbing drunks. Actually, someone is ''always'' robbing drunks. But the last drunk was the Chief Constable's aunt.
92
93!!Experiencing Strange Times: Twelve Days of Mr. Sacks
94
95--> Mr Sacks! Take my best regards!
96
97---> '''A scoffing trill'''\
98"You, [[[PurelyAestheticGender gendertitle]]], are no more generous than you deserve. Good day." And he's gone, before you can untangle whether 'more generous than you deserve' actually means anything except 'I enjoy the sound of my own voice.'
99
100---> '''A shrilling chuckle'''\
101"Of course, of course! I accept them in the spirit in which you conveyed them. Be well. All shall be well, you know. And all manner of thing. That was the promise. How I do prattle on. Sleep well! As will those below."
102
103!!An Unusual Pail of So-Called Snow
104
105-->It's noticeably different from most of the 'snow' in the streets. It has an oilier lustre, and the smell is not quite the same: ammonia, but touched with oil of roses. There is no indication at all that the stuff is safe. The wisest thing to do would be to dispose of it.\
106So what will you do?
107
108-->'''Feed it to a Talkative Rattus-Faber'''\
109Hello, what d'you have there? Ooh, can't say I like the smell. Is it? Is it really? Are you sure? What, even behind my ears at the back? Mm, all right! Have you got a spoon? No, I don't mm mf fmfm mmff...
110
111--->'''Failure: An unfortunate effect'''\
112Your pet spins around, shrieks heart-rendingly and collapses, stone dead. Almost immediately, it begins to deliquesce into pale goo. Quick! a mop!
113
114--->'''Success: Silence at last'''\
115Your pet stops in mid-sentence and collapses like washing on a broken line. When you try to pick it up, you find to your distaste that a whitish fluid is already congealing on its skin.
116--->Over the next day and a half, the fluid hardens into a cocoon of sorts. When your rat emerges, no naturalist would recognise it as a rodent. It is less talkative, for a start.
117
118--> '''Dump it on the fire'''\
119Some memory tugs at you...
120
121---> '''Success: A cloud of stinking steam'''\
122Yes... this is how the Mountain is remembered. When the Garden first was young, when the Neath was not the Neath, when the Earth had not yet set like candle-wax, when the jewels remained uncovered to casual sight. So sad, so long...wait. Who were you thinking?
123
124---> '''Failure: Shivering and cursing'''\
125The temperature in the room plummets. The sodden grate smells like urine-soaked mackerel. Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea.
126
127--> '''Drown a rat in it'''\
128Splash, splash. Let us have a tiny sacrifice.
129
130--->'''Your own little well'''\
131All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well. All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well. ALL SHALL BE WELL AND ALL SHALL BE WELL AND ALL MANNER OF THING SHALL BE WELL SHALL BE WELL. ALL SHALL BE WELL. ALL SHALL BE WELL. SHALL BE WELL. SHALL BE WELL. SHALL BE WELL. SHALL BE WELL. NOT POSTPONED. NOT IN THE END. NOT FOR LONG.
132
133!!Maniac's Prayer
134
135--> Perhaps you can distinguish ghastly truths in here? Possibly is just rhymes funny.
136
137--> '''Repeat a great many Maniac's Prayers'''\
138[[SarcasmMode This is a plan without a flaw nor any possibility of error!]]
139
140--->'''Some time later'''\
141A room. Possibly your room. You don't know the time of day, or which day it is, or your name. But these are trifles, and your hair will grow back eventually. What matters is what you have witnessed. [[LanguageofMagic The howling letters from beyond the reach of Surface telescopes!]]
142
143
144[[/folder]]
145
146[[folder:Recurring Dreams]]
147!!Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon
148
149->You dream that you're flinging books happily on to the Stolen River, the one they used to call the Thames. The river is on fire! Flames leap higher than the houses on either side. Every time you throw another book on, there is a flare of coloured light, like a firework, and a puff of sweet-scented smoke. You look down and realise with horror that you've run out of books: you are flinging your clothes on to the fire. When your clothes are gone, you begin peeling off skin and throwing that. You wake before it goes very much further.
150
151!!Recurring Dreams: Death By Water
152
153->'''A dream about your home'''\
154Back on the surface! How charming! The moon is rising outside your window! And all your dear familiar things around you. Warm firelight. Birdsong outside. It's been so long since you've heard birdsong.\
155'''But the view outside your window isn't right'''\
156The moon shines on a flooded desert. The waters lap around the wreck of a dirigible. The night breeze that flows through the open window is cold and salt and sad. Your stomach growls.\
157'''You begin to gather your things'''\
158It'll be a long journey, but someone has to do it. If you don't get up there, who else will arrange matters properly? You heft your luggage and leave a note on the table: [[ArcWords GONE NORTH]].
159
160!!Recurring Dreams: What the Thunder Said
161
162->'''The eye of the storm'''\
163Your mind's eye turns northeast, away from the sun. Dark clouds begin to mass on the horizon. They gather around you, blotting out the sunlight and the sea. All you can see now is soft, heavy grey mist. It enfolds you and envelops your consciousness. Thunder rolls. 'You wish to see through my eyes?' it says. 'So be it.'\
164You blink. You're back on the cliff. The storm clouds are gone, but your vision is... altered. The trees have a cast to them, as if their light is being refracted through a new prism in your eye. The air is heavy with the sickly foreboding that comes before a rainstorm.
165
166->'''I will dive into the water!'''\
167I will swim in the eye of the storm and reach the heart of the sea!\
168'''I leap! I fly!'''\
169I plunge into the black water. I slice through the onyx depths, describing a [[ArcWords parabola]]. As I swim, the dark fills my eyes and I see through it, into the heart of the storm.
170
171
172->'''I have reached the thunder!'''\
173I am one with it. I rejoice.\
174'''The thunder loves me'''\
175[[spoiler:I love the thunder. The thunder tells stories to those it loves. The thunder tells me of the [[ArcWords correspondence]] between lover and loved and invites me into its heart. I see with the thunder's eyes. I demand to be loved!]]
176
177->'''I bid the wind speak'''\
178I laugh with delight to find it gusting here! I open my arms, and I welcome the wind! I ask it what news and it screams in my face! I roar back, my voice blending with the wind's, exultant!
179
180->'''Ask a question'''\
181Why are you here? You turn to one of the hooded figures and ask your question. You cannot see the face under the hood. Something red gleams in the shadow. 'It's just a dream,' says a voice. 'You made me up.'
182
183!!Dreaming Strange Dreams: A Game Of Chess
184
185->You can go anywhere. You use secret passages to enter the rooms of your enemies, vulnerable in their sleep. You climb dark staircases and cross vast, silent halls. [...] You can do anything. Anything except scrub this gore from your hands.
186
187[[/folder]]
188
189[[folder:Seeking Mr Eaten's Name]]
190
191!!Seeking Mr Eaten's Name
192
193->'''Accept the Name!'''\
194Though you will forget it when you wake. Even the memory of the visit will be erased. Lacre cannot bury the law.\
195'''A trace of sadness, like the frost which silvers the night'''\
196The light on the edge of sleep was mine. I was [[spoiler:Mr Candles]]. I will not be again.
197
198->'''The well gapes'''\
199This is the last time. The walls of the well are studded with chunks of glass-sharp obsidian. You knew it must be so. But if you bleed to death before you drown, it will be for nothing.
200
201->Your flesh rips as you fall. Both your arms and one thigh are ragged tatters. You scream with pain and fury into the water. Too much blood! You won't have time to drown. [[MadnessMantra You won't have time to drown.]]
202
203->You arranged your own betrayal. You made yourself a target. The venal and the vicious could not resist it. But they didn't chain you. They beat you and robbed you. Why can they not understand?
204
205->'''A voice heard in a dream'''\
206"No, you damnable beast, I will not! A man's got to draw the line somewhere, and I won't, you hear me? I won't!" Then there is a scream and a silence broken only by the laughter of a hat.
207
208->So few of them know what you are. You speak and eat and smile like any other. Even your friends may not suspect. But sometimes it all gets too much. [[HorrorHunger You are hungry.]]\
209
210->'''Eat. Just eat.'''\
211You need something rare. Something rich and red. If it were still moving, perhaps? Oh God yes.\
212
213->'''Police-whistles, and the smell of smoke'''\
214"For I was hungry, and I ate you. I was thirsty, and I drank you." What happened in there? Your memory is patchy. The cutlery. The difficulty with the tablecloth. That business with the mouse. If only it had moved faster. If only the sous-chef had been more co-operative.
215
216->'''"Have you ever been to the Iron Republic?"'''\
217Things are different there.\
218'''A long silence'''\
219Then a sound. Is she... is she weeping? "Yes," she says very quietly. "Just once."
220
221->[Another player] has set St Destin's Candle in your window. Or so they claim. It’s not even real. It’s something imagined in an empty space. But it has hollowed you out like a rotted nut.
222
223->''Now we have the wax, which is the streak beneath our skin, and the wick, which is the faith we have skeined, and the tinder, which is the harm we have done to those who loved us, and the flint, which is the name, the Name, the treasure of music stilled. Now. It will hurt, we must render ourselves a little, there will be scars, but one more scar, what is that?''
224
225
226->"Tonight. Snuff the lights. All the laudanum you can drink and more. Then you'll learn a thing about souls."
227
228->What is a secret? Only a truth untested. You've given up so much (and yet so much remains: shhh, we won't speak of it; there are never no secrets). Of the tested truths, a few fragments remain. A knife. A word. An hour. A cup. A candle. A promise. And now, a question.
229
230->You are always and still a moth to folly's candle.
231
232[[/folder]]
233
234[[folder:Flavour Text]]
235
236!!Flavour Text
237
238->Enough of these, and you'll know the secrets of earth and sea.\
239'''--Map Scrap'''
240
241->Mysteries are fire. Truth burns.\
242'''--Searing Enigma'''
243
244->Whose soul was this? A queen? A genius? A prophet? It's like looking into the face of the sun.\
245'''--Coruscating Soul'''
246
247->This is so. [[LogicBomb This is not so.]]\
248'''--Impossible Theorem'''
249
250->A really good look at [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow that which men should never learn]].\
251'''--Semiotic Monocle'''
252
253->Even you have a hard time taking yourself seriously in this extraordinary creation.\
254'''--Ridiculous Hat'''
255
256->You can't go wrong with an iron hat. Except that you look ridiculous. That's a problem, certainly.\
257'''--Iron Hat'''
258
259->Like wearing a live wolf.\
260'''--Insatiable Glove'''
261
262->What were you doing again?\
263'''--Bottled Oblivion'''
264
265->I saw it! Ask anyone! ...except her. Don't ask her.\
266'''--Dubious Testimony'''
267
268->"We shall complete you! You will delight in wearing us!"\
269'''--[[spoiler:Moderately Co-operative Clothes Colony]]'''
270
271->"...what I had to go through to create this..."\
272'''--[[spoiler:Iron Republic Journal]]'''
273
274->You never, ever want to put this hat on your head.\
275'''--[[spoiler:Unfinished Hat]]'''
276
277->What could mark a soul?\
278'''--[[spoiler:Stain on your soul]]'''
279
280->Were your eyes always such a dark grey? Did you hear [[TitleDrop what the Thunder said]]?\
281'''--Stormy-Eyed'''
282
283->You have observed, stolen, followed, decrypted and occasionally murdered.\
284'''--a fine piece in the Game'''
285
286->You stole that which cannot be stolen.\
287'''--Master Thief'''
288
289->Why? In God's name, why? Stop now. Before it's too late.\
290'''--Seeking Mr Eaten's Name'''
291
292->What...what did that place do to you?\
293'''--[[spoiler:Changed By the Iron Republic]]'''
294
295->You're now important enough to be worth murdering.\
296'''--Enjoying Lethal Prominence: A worthy target'''
297
298->Why are you here? Are you here at all?\
299'''--Ambition: [[spoiler:Enigma]]'''
300
301->Take comfort - there are arrangements for every reckoning.\
302'''--Fragment of the Tragedy Procedures'''
303
304->You cannot begin to measure the length of your journey unless you recall the person you once were. How much weaker, how much more fragile.\
305'''--Memory of a Much Lesser Self'''
306
307->It is not blackmail material, because it is not secret. But you know every vexing detail of the affair, and the ability to mention it just when it will have most effect.\
308'''--Mortification of a Great Power'''
309[[/folder]]
310
311!!Clay Man Stories
312
313->"IN POLYTHREME THE BED I SLEPT ON WAS A SLAVE. THE ROOM WHERE I SLEPT WAS HACKED FROM SCREAMING STONE. THE WATER I DRANK BEGGED ME TO STOP. THEY PAID ME IN COIN THAT PLOTTED MY DOWNFALL. THE MEMORIES ARE TROUBLING. THIS PLACE IS BETTER."
314
315->"I TIRE OF CARRYING BOXES."
316
317!!Miscellaneous
318
319->The Starveling Cat has moved into your lodgings. May God have mercy on our souls.\
320'''--Message displayed when obtaining the Starveling Cat from another player'''
321
322->Something terrible has happened. Perhaps a server has caught fire, or a database flared and guttered like a dying star.\
323'''--Standard Error Message'''
324
325->If this doesn't knock their socks off, what will? [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Shakespeare]] [[BackFromTheDead rising from the grave]] to rip the spires off the Bazaar?\
326'''--Message displayed at the option of selling your short story as a classic'''
327
328!!Character creation screen
329->May we ask whether you're a lady or a gentleman?\
330\
331* A lady\
332* A gentleman\
333* My dear sir, there are individuals roaming the streets of Fallen London at this very moment [[{{Cthulhumanoid}} with the faces of squid]]! Squid! Do you ask them their gender? And yet you waste our time asking me trifling and impertinent questions about mine? It is my own business, sir, and I bid you good day.
334

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