| Sky Barnet | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sky Barnet (Sidebar) | |
| Located in | The Blue Kingdom |
| Ports | The Toll-Tower |
| Shops | The Turret The Last Autumnal Slope |
| Shipyard | Pilgrim's Progress |
Sky Barnet is a major port in the southern part of the Blue Kingdom, and can be found north of the Transit Relay to the Reach
Log Entries[ | ]
Once, devils ruled here. Now, only bureaucracy.
Sky Barnet, where London has made an outpost in the kingdom of the dead.
The entry to the Blue Kingdom and the one place here where the living almost outnumber the dead.
The Incautious Driver peers at the tower housing London's Embassy. "Shall I fly past the ambassador's window and sound the whistle?"
The Incognito Princess wrinkles her nose. "I trust," she says with distaste, "We will not be expected to queue."
The Navigator looks at the House of Days. "Shades come here to have their proper status acknowledged." He looks thoughtful.
The Repentant Devil considers the Toll-Tower. "A grand old tower," he nods sagely, "Completely Pointless, mind."
The Vagabond is unsettled. He says he has enemies among the dead.
The Toll-Tower[ | ]
A constant stream of dead spirits enter the Blue Kingdom through the base of the tower. Once there was a manned tollgate, but the fees have become more complicated, and the toll window is closed now.
| The Grand Entrance | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Category | Story Event |
| Type | Story |
| Data ID | 307288 |
The Grand Entrance[ | ]
The entry hall runs through the Toll-Tower, through gates that are never closed. The hall is full of passing spirits, few of them human: a masked warhorse; a masked dolphin, swimming easily in the ghost of an ocean; a creature with ten-foot wings, which would certainly be more frightening if it showed its true face. No one speaks, and there are no footfalls, only a faint susurration like the drift of leaves.
Trigger conditions
Acquainted with the Toll-Tower ≤ 0,
Interactions
| Actions | Requirements | Effects | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get your bearings
There are stairs up and down – and less ordinary means of entry. A masked orangutan just descended a pole to the floor below.
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Up. Down.
Alongside the Grand Entrance is the Marketplace of Litigators, for all who need companionship and guidance in their encounter with the Blue Kingdom. Downstairs, prominent Devils live. And in the upper floor of the Toll-Tower is the Embassy of Albion.
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| The Embassy of Albion | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Category | Story Event |
| Type | Story |
| Data ID | 307290 |
The Embassy of Albion[ | ]
The top three floors of the Tower belong to the Embassy of Albion. The visitor climbs ten flights of amber stairs guarded by spirits and devils, and arrives in a modest-sized parlour decorated with a pink floral carpet and a painting of the Empress. The Secretary of the Embassy works in the neat half of the office. The disordered half is the domain of the Cultural Attaché.
Trigger conditions
Acquainted with the Toll-Tower ≥ 1
Embassy Displaced ≤ 0,
Interactions
| Actions | Requirements | Effects | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seek an appointment with the Ambassador
You will have to convince the Secretary that you have an appointment already.
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|
Failed event | |
| You don't have an appointment
The Secretary looks at the appointment book, where your name is not written. Then she looks at you again.
"If you are here to help with the Ambassador's wounds, I can admit you," she says. The Ambassador is in her chamber. It appears as though someone half-literate tried to carve a stanza of poetry on each forearm. The wounds are still... well, would you call it "bleeding" when the droplets climb out of the flesh and fly away? "An encounter with the Logoi," she says. "And no, I don't know what it's supposed to mean. Sit. What do you want from me?"
Chambers of the Ambassador
| |||
| Successful event | |||
| The Ambassador is In
When you arrive, the Ambassador is dressing a wound on her arm. "My predecessor was afraid to leave the Toll-Tower," she remarks as you come in. "He hardly saw any of the Blue Kingdom. I'm determined not to duplicate his errors, but as you see, there are some costs to the more assertive approach."
The cuts on her arm are clean and shallow. They look like characters in an unfamiliar alphabet. "An encounter with the Logoi," she says. "And no, I don't know what it's supposed to mean. Sit. What do you want from me?"
Chambers of the Ambassador
| |||
| Pay another visit to the Ambassador
The Secretary absently waves you in.
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|
Fortunate to find her in
The Ambassador's left arm is still in a bandage. She is struggling to write a report home with her right hand. Her mood has not improved since last you visited.
Chambers of the Ambassador
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| Question a Litigator about the Blue Kingdom
In matters of local protocol, they know all there is to know.
|
It's very simple
"The Blue Kingdom is open to different spirits depending on the status that they hold. Blue Kingdom Status(secretary_explanation)"
But, she adds, if you really want all the details on this matter, you should go to the Marketplace of Litigators and be properly instructed. There are experts there who can explain for hours.
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| Deliver Port Reports of the Blue Kingdom
The Secretary has an intricate filing system.
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Filed and unfiled
For each report, the secretary completes an intake form noting the subject of the report, and a quality metric based on number of objective details included. Maps and sketches add to the quality metric. Adverbs incur a penalty. Afterwards, she places each report in a labelled drawer, and passes you a receipt and a sack of Sovereigns.
Two minutes later, the Cultural Attaché is kneeling beside the drawer, scattering sheets on the floor around him. "Oh, that's a fine detail... what rot! That will need a great deal more colour..." The Secretary does not have sufficient status to complain, so she does not.
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Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
| |
| Invest in copies of the Cultural Attaché's work
There are nineteen volumes published. He is working on the twentieth now.
Game note: This exchanges Gratitude for a Volume of Notes on the Blue Kingdom, which can be used to hire certain assistants. |
Delighted to offer you a copy
"It's not what I expected to do here," he admits. "At first, I staged performances for the locals. Gave poetry readings. Couldn't tell if they appreciated it at all. Have you ever given a reading to a circle of horse spirits? And even when you've got ex-humans listening, they'd put their jars of voices in the front row, and you couldn't say which voice went with whom.
"Now, these Notes have had a very receptive audience back home." He takes out a volume and autographs the front page with a flourish.
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| Trade Gratitude for a Cryptic Benefactor
The Embassy has contacts. Perhaps they can arrange a useful introduction.
Game note: This exchanges Gratitude for a Cryptic Benefactor. |
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Around the back of the Embassy
The Secretary consults a list of the residents of the Toll-Tower. She frowns over several similar entries. She performs a set of sums in the margin of the page. Finally, on some unexplained principle, she selects one as the best benefactor for you.
She copies out a name and a direction onto a fresh card and presents it to you.
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| Trade Gratitude for a Moment of Inspiration
The Secretary probably knows a great many motivational tales of woe.
Game note: This exchanges Gratitude for a Moment of Inspiration, and offers some information. |
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Seven times
She tells you what she knows. That the Ambassador has been seven times to the Court of Apes, and put her case to change the lease, and come home again, days or weeks later, rejected and without any explanation. She tells you that the Devils come and pound on the door of the Embassy. She tells you about the Barrels of Hours spent to extend the Embassy's presence here. She tells you how the wound on the Ambassador's arm is freshly reinscribed each time.
No, she doesn't know what any of that signifies.
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| Request the Embassy's assistance with local bureaucracy
Perhaps they offer some services to Londoners?
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No such good fortune
"I fear you'll have to hire your own Litigator from the Marketplace of Litigators if you want representation," says the Secretary. "Regrettably, the Embassy of Albion cannot intervene in local matters."
From her tone, it's clear that while someone might regret this circumstance, she personally does not.
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| Enquire where you should deliver the shade in the Black Box
Captain Whitlock stole the shade from the Blue Kingdom. Presumably it should be returned here.
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A more senior matter
"You should speak to the Ambassador directly," an aide tells you, clearly determined to have as little to do with this as possible.
Game note: Visit the Ambassador to discuss the matter of the Black Box. |
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| Chambers of the Ambassador | |
|---|---|
| Category | Story Event |
| Type | Story |
| Data ID | 307311 |
Chambers of the Ambassador[ | ]
The Ambassador is a tall, silver-haired woman. She is draped in medals and commendations, but none of these are recent. Piled in front of the Ambassador is a stack of demands, all marked urgent, pertaining to payments due soon, past due, and in their final notice period.
Interactions
| Actions | Requirements | Effects | Notes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Make an awkward and embarrassing introduction
The Embittered Devil and the Ambassador are bound to hate one another. Which could be entertaining.
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Very well then
The Embittered Devil asks the Ambassador how long she intends to usurp the rightful place of the Devils.
The Ambassador replies that she has a duty to remain until she has established a respect for Albion in the Blue Kingdom. The Embittered Devil scoffs. "You have a Clear soul," he says. "No one here is going to attend to a word you say." "And what does that mean?" the Ambassador demands. "Death," says the Embittered Devil. "This is its Kingdom, but you have no respect for its purpose or its power." Then he stalks out to await you in the hall, leaving a sulphurous atmosphere.
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| Offer to help with her financial concerns
There might be value in putting the Ambassador in your debt.
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Settling difficulties
There is, the Ambassador admits, a small matter. The Embassy's place in the Toll-Tower is leased by permission of the Blue Kingdom.
"Observe the lease," she says, pushing a document across the table towards you. "It says that we are entitled to remain here for three viewings of the Sun. The Devils take this to refer to days by the calendar, and they are having fees levied against us. But I argue that I haven't seen the Judgement of the Blue Kingdom even once, so the lease is nowhere near complete." She watches expectantly to see whether you still want to be involved.
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| Deliver a Renegotiated Lease
It is stamped, sealed, signed, and readied.
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The Gratitude of One's Country
The Ambassador reads the document. Then she reads it again. Then she spreads it on the table and counts the stamps and seals affixed to it, until she reaches the sigil of the Pansekritis on the last page, which makes it indisputable and irrefutable.
Then she sits back in her chair, eyes closed, for a count of ten breaths. Finally she opens her eyes again. "Tell me the truth," she says. "Do you think I have mismanaged my tenure here?"
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She has done her best
It is not her fault that the Blue Kingdom does not readily welcome Albion.
|
"I have," she says. "I have done everything that effort and determination can do."
She calls in the Secretary and weighs you down with every gift the Embassy can currently offer. Is that a Royal Dispensation?
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| She is out of her depth
She should have gone home long ago, and let someone else take this on.
|
"There is no one else," she says, curtly. So much for wanting your honest opinion.
She calls in the Secretary and weighs you down with every gift the Embassy can currently offer. Is that a Royal Dispensation?
| |||||||
| The Blue Kingdom has no need for Albion
She should have closed the Embassy and returned home.
|
"I was not raised to let go of my duty so lightly," she says. But she gives you your reward anyhow.
She calls in the Secretary and weighs you down with every gift the Embassy can currently offer. Is that a Royal Dispensation?
| |||||||
| Deliver a Notice of Eviction
It is stamped, sealed, signed, and readied.
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Intimations of Mortality
The Ambassador reads the findings of each Court. At the end, beneath the sigil of the Pansekritis, there is a place for her own signature, to acknowledge her eviction. She struggles, but her scarred left arm stretches out and her left hand signs the page.
Then an avalanche of time sweeps away the Embassy of Albion. There is no Ambassador, no Secretary, no Attaché. Your gut slackens with hunger; your throat dries; the larvae of moths sprout in your clothing, eat, and fly away. A blink later. You stand in the Court of Porphyry and Brass. Devils crowd you with gifts.
 The Court of Porphyry and Brass
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| Ask where one might begin renegotiating the Embassy's lease
She hasn't done it herself, but perhaps she knows where to start.
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The House of Days
"The House of Days will have to give a ruling," the Ambassador says. "They do intake for humans at the Court of Apes. They've never allowed me further than that, but perhaps you will be more fortunate."
Game note: To begin renegotiating the Embassy's lease, you will need to visit the Court of Apes at the House of Days.
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| Cautiously mention her Clear soul flaw
It might not be her favourite topic of conversation, but if you lead into it with some other gossip...?
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Unreceptive
You try to lead into what you've heard. She receives it with a scowl.
"It's true," she says, "that I don't fear death the same way that most people do. If it were otherwise, I would not be able to tolerate this place. They have funny names for courage in the Blue Kingdom." And that's all she will say about it for now. She dismisses you from her presence shortly afterwards.
The Embassy of Albion
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| Inquire about the Devils who used to hold this place
Now that the rental dispute is over, perhaps she will speak to you about the history?
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A Horror of Cleaning
"I dare say it was a junk shop of Souls," the Ambassador remarks. "Glowing bottles on every shelf, and some nasty yellow-eyed man at the back smoking a pipe, and no one dusting under the furniture. Now we are doing some real work here."
The Embassy of Albion
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| Ask the Ambassador about the accuracy of the Volume
Is the Cultural Attache's work officially approved?
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The books are for Albion
Without constant reports about Progress, Albion won't send any support for their Embassy, or any salary for the staff. And when they do pay, they are stingy.
So the Attaché may publish what he likes, especially if the publishers continue to pay in Sovereigns and supplies. Besides, this volume infuses just enough truth to interest readers back home, while omitting what might trouble them. "I tried once to write home a report about the Court of Whales," she remarks. "They accused me of being honey-mazed. But it was all true. When there's a new verdict in that Court, they sing it in the water."
The Embassy of Albion
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| Deliver Captain Whitlock's black box to the Ambassador
It contains a shade that absconded from the Blue Kingdom. It should be returned to its intended place.
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Breaking bad news
"Oh, for God's sake. Again? Let me tell you, one man's Eurydice is another's major diplomatic incident.
"I mean, why do they do it? Has it ever ended well? Sorry, it's hardly your fault – you'll be compensated, of course. It's better I can get ahead of this. I don't know how I'm going to explain it to the Pansekretis." You are paid in casks of gemstones, and the promise of a good word in the right ear. When you leave, the embassy is still in a state of panic. But Captain Whitlock's transgression has been undone, and the matter of her legacy is settled.
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| |||||
| The Court of Porphyry and Brass | |
|---|---|
| |
| Category | Story Event |
| Type | Story |
| Data ID | 307291 |
The Court of Porphyry and Brass[ | ]
All that was once the Embassy of Albion has been stripped away, save the pink floral carpet. The false panelling is gone, revealing a vaulted open space, suited to the House of Days. The ribs of the ceiling are porphyry, embellished with brass devil-heads. Where the portrait of the Empress used to hang, there is now a lavish oil-painting of Carillon, showing each soul being tormented in its own way, according to its need.
Trigger conditions
Acquainted with the Toll-Tower ≥ 1
Embassy Displaced ≥ 1
Interactions
| Actions | Requirements | Effects | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invest in a Condemned Experiment
The Court of Porphyry and Brass has its share of disposable experiments.
Game note: This exchanges Gratitude for a Condemned Experiment. |
The least they can do
The experiment comes in a shapely bottle. It is not labelled.
"You may want to handle it with gloves," says the Deviless who makes the payment. "It's still a bit... charged."
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| Invest in an Unlicensed Chart
The usual licensing bodies are not in power here.
Game note: This exchanges Gratitude for an Unlicensed Chart. |
Navigational aids
The annotations on the chart are not in a language you know. You can read them anyway.
"Just don't speak any of the names aloud," recommends the Deviless. "Safer that way."
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| Invest in a Crimson Promise
A promise of destruction, to be released when you require it.
Game note: This exchanges Gratitude for a Crimson Promise. |
For future use
"Guaranteed to be reliable," says the Deviless. The Promise comes tightly rolled in a tube of silk brocade, with golden tassels. "Don't open it until you're ready."
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| Turn in Port Reports of the Blue Kingdom
The Court keeps track of what is happening elsewhere in the Kingdom, whether or not Devils are traveling there.
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Cackling matter
The Deviless at the front desk receives your reports, and reads them in front of you, cackling in plain delight.
"How elegant," she exclaims, over one page that details the licensing process for cormorant cenotaphs. "What a neat solution!"
|
Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
| |
| Ask about the old Embassy of Albion
The Porphyry Court didn't always stand on this spot, did it?
|
A conversation with the historian
The Deviless escorts you up a staircase to a private chamber. "The Marquis is our historian," she explains, on the steps. "He has lived in the Toll-Tower before Parabola."
There is a hasty scuttling when the Deviless opens the door, like insects found under a rock; and when you see the Marquis standing in his chambers, you have the impression that his fingers have only just been reminded to rejoin his hand. But he treats you with courtesy, and shows you a shelf, on which he keeps the souls of those who tried to form an Embassy at Albion. "They were awarded to me in partial settlement of an unpaid debt. The Clear one is the Ambassador," he remarks. "A specimen of low value. Notice the fine particulates in the Secretary's soul, however." |
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| Ask what happened to the Embassy of Albion
It was here, and now it very much is not.
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Rapid resolution
The Deviless explains. In the Blue Kingdom, it takes a long time to receive a decision. But once a case has been judged, the execution is instant. In this case, it was proven that the Embassy should have moved out years earlier; and so the sentence applied retroactively.
"I hope you aren't feeling ill," she adds solicitously. "You should not have been harmed, but the execution of the command may have produced some side-effects for those in the vicinity."
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| Try for some gratitude from the Embittered Devil
Perhaps he'll be more pleasant if he understands what you did to the Embassy of Albion.
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Fierce
He studies the oil paintings of Carillon and remarks on the incompetent rendering of perspective. He deplores the colour of the carpet. He suggests that he can still smell a hint of the odour of Albion lingering in the air.
He is, in short, delighted. It would be too much to expect his overall manner to change, but he indicates that he is willing to forget a billing cycle, to recognise your contribution to the cause. Not that you've done anything extraordinary. Any honourable being would have done the same ages ago.
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| Marketplace of Litigators | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Category | Story Event |
| Type | Story |
| Data ID | 307341 |
Marketplace of Litigators[ | ]
Litigators and Resident Devils have set up their stalls among the crowd heading into the Blue Kingdom. “Don’t Go Alone – Hire a Psychopomp!” advises a banner in indigo lettering. A masked woman is negotiating at the first booth, offering two silver coins and a lock of hair.
Trigger conditions
Acquainted with the Toll-Tower ≥ 1
Interactions
| Actions | Requirements | Effects | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hire a Cowled Loquacitor in exchange for a Volume of Notes
It offers you its assistance with notarisiacal concerns.
Game note: The Cowled Loquacitor can assist with challenges of Hearts and Veils. |
A first payment gratefully received
It leafs through the pages of the book, pausing for a long time on a plate that illustrates the gravestone of a hyacinth plant. The glossary of Blue Kingdom vocabulary causes it to rock with silent mirth.
After several minutes of study, it folds the book away into a pocket of its surprisingly capacious robe, and invites you to lead the way. Game note: The Cowled Loquacitor will assist you for a month before further payment is required. |
||
| Hire a Cowled Loquacitor in exchange for Ministry-Approved Literature
It offers you its assistance with notarisiacal concerns.
Game note: The Cowled Loquacitor can assist with challenges of Hearts and Veils. |
A first payment gratefully received
It leafs through the book, especially the index, where the words are most dense and the type smallest.
Then it folds the volume away into a pocket of its surprisingly capacious robe, and invites you to lead the way. Game note: The Cowled Loquacitor will assist you for a month before further payment is required. |
||
| Hire a Nameless Spirit with a Vision of the Heavens
It carries a jar containing its voice. It wears a mask. And yet it seems familiar.
Game note: The Nameless Spirit can assist with challenges of Mirrors and Hearts. |
A first payment gratefully received
The Nameless Spirit's voice creaks out of its jar. "Thank you," it says. "I have always been an explorer." It is a deep voice, deeper than one should be able to fit into a container sized for pickles.
As if to acknowledge the incongruity, the Nameless Spirit winks at you. But you have the sense it is also searching for something in your face, and it is not sure whether it has found the something. Game note: The Nameless Spirit will assist you for a month before further payment is required.
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| Hire an Embittered Devil
He has the face of an arsonist and the breath of a blast furnace.
Game note: The Embittered Devil can assist with challenges of Iron and Mirrors. |
A first payment resentfully received
He accepts your hire and will help you navigate the Blue Kingdom. Not that you deserve it. The Embassy of Albion had no right to take over the Toll-Tower. It belonged to the Devils long before anyone had heard of Albion. Now look what he's reduced to, taking jobbing work.
Game note: The Embittered Devil will assist you for a month before further payment is required. |
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| Dismiss a Cowled Loquacitor
You no longer require its services.
Game note: If you dismiss the Cowled Loquacitor, you will be able to hire it again later. |
|
Until you next require it
It walks away, its cloak rustling like yellowed forms in triplicate.
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| Dismiss a Nameless Spirit
You no longer require its services.
Game note: If you dismiss the Nameless Spirit, you will be able to hire it again later. |
|
Familiar farewell
When it goes, you have the impression you will see it again.
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| Dismiss an Embittered Devil
His company is growing tedious.
Game note: If you dismiss the Devil, you may hire him again in the future. |
|
No great surprise
He knew you wouldn't keep him around a moment longer than absolutely necessary. You have no sense of respect. Nonetheless, he trusts you will recommend his services to any other deceased friends you may have who require escort through the Blue Kingdom. If you have any sense of gratitude, anyway.
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| Question a Litigator about the Blue Kingdom
They offer preliminary consultations free of charge.
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It's very simple
"You ought to be marked Antedeceased," explains a Litigator bluntly. "You know what that means, of course? Have a seat. The consultation is free of charge for the first twelve hours..."
Free Consultation
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| Free Consultation | |
|---|---|
| Category | Story Event |
| Type | Story |
| Data ID | 308948 |
Free Consultation[ | ]
A Litigator's Assistant has offered you a pillow on the stone floor, and prepared you a cup of heated ox-blood. In front of you is a wax tablet, which offers a menu of suitable questions, and which is entitled Liturgy of Consultation (Lesser Rite).
Interactions
| Actions | Requirements | Effects | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is Ephemera status?
And why are the Ephemera so many?
|
|
Those who have come to the Blue Kingdom in the proper way
The Ephemera are the many, many dead who have come to the Blue Kingdom to enter by Death's Door. They are Ephemera only until they pass through, and then... but it is forbidden to speak of that higher mystery. The Assistant interrupts the liturgical explanation in order to ring a bell three times, and to kiss a branch of antlers wreathed in honeysuckle.
The Ephemera are not entirely free of troubles, however. It may take time to proceed through Death's Door, and while they remain outside, they are harried by the Gold Logoi, in order to inspire them to better and wiser behaviour.
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| What is Antedeceased status?
And where might one acquire it?
|
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Your proper place
The Antedeceased are those who – and here the Assistant coughs significantly – come to the Blue Kingdom ahead of their time, when they have not yet passed away. The Kingdom does permit to the Antedeceased a certain limited access to its functions, but one will always be something of a curiosity.
The Antedeceased in the Blue Kingdom must watch out for the Perfection, the Blue Logoi who punish aberrations and violations of the normal order.
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| What is Yoked status?
And why might one dread it?
|
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The status of servants
Yoked spirits are those bound to the service of the Blue Kingdom. They serve its Logoi and its courts, carry objects and convey souls.
Those who are Yoked must guard against the Red Logoi, the Propriety, who protect the Kingdom from its own servants, and make sure that no one is overly seen or excessively heard.
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| What is Invisible status?
And why is it the worst status of all?
|
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To be Invisible is to have no Status
Those who are Invisible have not yet been processed by the Blue Kingdom. This is the worst of outcomes. Every one of the Logoi is an enemy to the Invisibles.
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| What are the Logoi?
And how do they punish those of unsuitable Status?
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Greater and lesser wheels
The Logoi are words spoken by the Sapphir'd King. They are decrees; they are statements about how the world should be; they are giant wheels of spinning fire.
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| May I take some notes?
This consultation provides ample matter for a Port Report.
|
You copy what you hear
...but the liturgy is repetitious, and you are soon embellishing it with stories of invented shades, and ruined monuments to past empires.
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| Drop Off the Repentant Devil | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Category | Story Event |
| Type | Story |
| Data ID | 311777 |
Drop Off the Repentant Devil[ | ]
It is what the sun of the Blue Kingdom wishes, after all.
Trigger conditions
Repentant Devil ≥ 1
Learning about the Repentant Devil ≥ 60 ≤ 60,
Interactions
| Actions | Requirements | Effects | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leave the Devil here
His goodbye is terse, but not cold.
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|
Handed off to the Bureaucracy
There is a delicate and complex intake procedure for persons wishing to engage in the service of the Blue Kingdom: even, it appears, when they have expressly been sent for. The last you see of the Repentant Devil, he is being weighed in a giant scale, and there is a crocodile in the other pan.
As for you, there is a reward for bringing in the Repentant Devil: a grand and ornate reward, suitable to the dignity of your benefactor. It sings from inside the sack.
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| Devils' Quarters | |
|---|---|
| |
| Category | Story Event |
| Type | Story |
| Data ID | 297747 |
Devils' Quarters[ | ]
Below the Marketplace of Litigators are the homes of Devils who prefer to live in the Toll-Tower. The staircase winds ever downward, the brass railing growing hotter as you descend.
Trigger conditions
Acquainted with the Toll-Tower ≥ 1
Repentant Devil's End ≥ 40 ≤ 40,
Interactions
| Actions | Requirements | Effects | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visit the Repentant Devil
He pays a good price, in sovereigns, for his research materials.
Game note: This provides 150 Sovereigns for the Uncanny Specimen and Otherworldly Artefact. |
Cash, not answers
His parlour is lined in silk the colour of a summer morning sky, and it smells of frankincense. But the items you bring, he puts in a back room, one with a stone floor and ample drainage.
What is he using them for? Oh, experiments. Tests. Nothing he learns will be wasted. Did you know, by the way, that death by drowning changes a soul? A small but measurable effect. Some suns find it distasteful.
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| Consult the Repentant Devil about the Rental Dispute
Perhaps he'll have some insight for you.
|
|
The gossip of Devils
You outline your conversations with the Ambassador of Albion.
"It doesn't matter how long she contrives to squat in the Toll-Tower," he says, when you've finished. "She has a Clear soul. It is a flaw that comes from having no regard for death. She will never be welcome in the Blue Kingdom, and she will never understand its meaning. It would be kindest to send her home."
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| Introduce the Embittered Devil
Perhaps these two will have something to talk about?
|
|
Squaring off
The conversation begins as you might have predicted. The Embittered Devil remarks that the furnishings are the best one can expect to get these days. The Repentant Devil asks pointed questions about where the Embittered Devil has been for the past several centuries.
But just when you expect something to be set on fire, the mood changes. You find yourself standing outside the door while the two of them continue their... conversation... alone. You don't see the Embittered Devil again for another six hours. When he turns up, he has a softened expression. He forgets to cast aspersions on Albion for several entire sentences. |
|
| The Attaché's search for the Lost Love | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Category | Story Event |
| Type | Story |
| Data ID | 306510 |
The Attaché's search for the Lost Love[ | ]
The Supercilious Attaché is a very busy man, apparently, but when you mention the Bleak Industrialist's name his secretary suddenly waves you through. You find the Attaché hunched at his desk, halfway through a mackerel sandwich. "The bureaucracy here is utterly intractable," he moans. "I tried all the official channels, honestly, I filled forms until my hands bled. But they won't even tell me where she is! It's no use anyway. The dead can't go back."
Trigger conditions
The Long Passage ≥ 3 ≤ 3,
Interactions
| Actions | Requirements | Effects | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ask where you should start looking
You'll have to track her down the old-fashioned way.
|
|
A Testament of Salt
"A spirit is sent first to the White Well for judgement at the Stone-Faced Court," explains the Attaché. "If they are officially declared Dead, they move on to Death's Door. From there, well, nobody knows.
"I have something that may help your search, if you insist on persisting." He retrieves a wax tablet from his drawer and pushes it across the desk. "It declares the bearer is officially dead. Everything here runs on spit and paperwork, you see. I went to a lot of trouble to get hold of this, so tell the Industrialist that my debt is paid."
|
|
| Take on Crew | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Category | Story Event |
| Type | Story |
| Data ID | 302978 |
Take on Crew[ | ]
"A handful of London engine-crew linger at the makeshift station, escapees from vessels crashed or stranded in the Blue Kingdom. More numerous are the masked, silent shades of the dead. They gather around your locomotive. They want work. "
Game note: You will only be able to recruit crew once every 15 days.
Interactions
| Actions | Requirements | Effects | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recruit a handful of crew
You can afford to be selective.
Game note: Recruit 3 or 4 Crew. There is a chance some of them will be the shades of the dead. |
|
Failed event | Advanced query needs investigation
Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
|
| Gratitude
You settle for a mix of the living and the dead. The former climb aboard first, seeking the company of others like them. The shades follow, bowing their masked heads as they pass you.
It turns out the dead are hard workers. Each has their own foibles and virtues, just like your living crew. But their silence is contagious. Within the week it has settled across your engine like a blanket of snow.
| |||
| Successful event | |||
| New recruits
There are enough living applicants to fill the positions you need. They clamber eagerly aboard.
The shades draw back. They seem disappointed.
| |||
| Accept all those fit to work
The gathered faces look up at you: some wind-bitten and hopeful, others hidden behind their porcelain death-masks.
Game note: Recruit 4 to 8 Crew. Some of them will be the shades of the dead. |
|
Welcome aboard
A line of new crew-mates files past you. Once aboard, they quickly separate into their respective groups; the living with the living, the dead with the dead.
The silent dead work tirelessly and with fascinated concentration. The living struggle to keep up. It is eery, passing porcelain-masked crew in the corridors; having them join you at dinner in the galley, delicately tipping their masks an inch forward so the food can reach their mouths.
|
Advanced query needs investigation
Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
|
| Repair your Locomotive | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Category | Story Event |
| Type | Story |
| Data ID | 310330 |
Repair your Locomotive[ | ]
Interactions
| Actions | Requirements | Effects | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Requisition repairs
You have some sway at the embassy.
Game note: Trade a point of Gratitude of the Embassy of Albion to repair your engine. |
Obsolete
The engineer appointed to you is accompanied by a trio of masked, spanner-carrying shades: his apprentices. He directs their work, but they learn very quickly. This seems to distress him. "I've yet to find anything the dead can't do better," he confides.
|
Advanced query needs investigation
Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
| |
| Request repairs
Are the devils feeling indulgent today?
Game note: Trade a point of the Porphyry Court's Gratitude to completely repair your engine. |
|
Outmoded
Two smiling devils emerge from the court to repair your locomotive. They are complimentary about it, but use words like 'quaint' and 'charming'. They know their way around a gasket, though.
|
Advanced query needs investigation
Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
|
| Go elsewhere
You have other matters to attend to.
|
|
Away
You leave Sky Barnet's modest station for the tall splendour of the Toll-Tower.
|
|
Ambition events in Sky Barnet[ | ]
WARNING: These pages contains ambition events that can appear in New Winchester which contains heavy spoilers for your captain's ambitions.
Truth ambition[ | ]
Ambition: the Heart of the Web
Shops[ | ]
Bazaar
Locomotive captains gather at the bazaar to trade goods and information. Here, you can acquire 'prospects': opportunities to sell a good at a distant port for an excellent price. Accept a prospect to claim it, source the goods, and deliver them.
The Turret
A desperate attempt by London's Embassy to supplement funds. The Ambassador's smile is manic as he invites visiting captains to peruse the Embassy's wares.
The Last Autumnal Slope
The Ambassador's sister is entrusted with the provisioning of armaments and equipment to visiting captains. There was, apparently, no one better suited to the task.
| Item | Buy | Sell |
|---|---|---|
 The Shivering Jemmy
|
 500 Sovereigns
|
250 Sovereigns
|
 Gleaming Galley
|
600 Sovereigns
|
300 Sovereigns
|
 Caminus Yards 'Blackjape'
|
800 Sovereigns
|
400 Sovereigns
|
 Cotterell & Hathersage 'Vala'
|
1000 Sovereigns
|
500 Sovereigns
|
 Fitted Cupboards
|
1200 Sovereigns
|
600 Sovereigns
|
 Interior Support Pillars
|
1250 Sovereigns
|
625 Sovereigns
|
 Adjustable Infirmary
|
2250 Sovereigns
|
1125 Sovereigns
|
 Caminus Yards 'Saintfire'
|
1800 Sovereigns
|
900 Sovereigns
|
 The Watchers in Azure
|
2930 Sovereigns
|
1465 Sovereigns
|
 Cotterell & Hathersage 'Golgonooza'
|
2000 Sovereigns
|
1000 Sovereigns
|
 Gates of Ivory
|
2050 Sovereigns
|
1025 Sovereigns
|
 Rose & Adamant Plating
|
2400 Sovereigns
|
1200 Sovereigns
|
 The Tisiphone
|
6000 Sovereigns
|
3000 Sovereigns
|
 Reclaimed Marauder Mangonel
|
100 Sovereigns
| |
 The 'Uninvited'
|
500 Sovereigns
| |
 'The Tears of Astolat'
|
250 Sovereigns
| |
 'The Wrath of Heaven'
|
1000 Sovereigns
|
Pilgrim's Progress
A beguilingly luxuriant engine-yard: where chassis' gleam like starlight and both engines and engineers are coiffed, polished and meticulously upholstered.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Parsival-Class Courser | 2000 Sovereigns
|
| Pellinore-Class Trader | 4000 Sovereigns
|
| Bedivere-Class Escort | 4000 Sovereigns
|
| Agravain-Class Juggernaught | 10000 Sovereigns
|
| Moloch-Class Liner | 20000 Sovereigns
|
Bank
Hallidges prides itself on constancy, discretion, and lavishly obsequious service. Items stored here can be withdrawn at any major port.
