The calm of studious introspection. At least on the surface.
Use links on this bar to tour storylets. Or, jump directly to a page.
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…Further into Fallen London
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It is what you may call a castle manned by learning and scholarship. Or a vicious and permanent dog-fight between Benthic College and Summerset College.
The University is most interesting to those of Watchful 80+, and it is suggested that players "exhaust the possibilities of the Forgotten Quarter first". Gain access at your Lodgings.
Shadowy dealings at the University
Scholars sometimes require unusual materials for their studies.
An anatomical moment
A Doctor of Anatomy is apparently collecting 'branded hearts'. Really?
[Unlocked with 5 x A Leathery Human Heart]
'Ah, yes…'
'Yes,' he says enthusiastically, 'I'll repatriate these.' Well…good. Good? What have you gotten into here?
Lose: 5 x A Leathery Human Heart
Connected: Revolutionaries increase
Talk about robbery
If you're the sort that knows your larceny.
[Unlocked when Master Thief is Light-fingered, Unseen, or Uniquely Larcenous]
[Unlocked with Counting the Days 12 and Counting the Days no more than 13]
[Unlocked with Spending Secrets 4]
Visit the Professor Denuntiatus of Infernal Rarefactions
She's been formally banished to the college chapel. It's a complicated form of career progression, but Benthic is an unorthodox place.
[Costs 0 actions]
Follow the distant sounds of tormented metal
'Tormented metal' is a rather poetic way of describing metal under pressure….
[ONWARDS!]
The Other Thing in the Other Chapel Who made this storylet? The chapel of Benthic College sees little use. Its institutional status is, to say the least, uncertain….
[Insert description (new page) for Manufacturing a Searing Enigma]
The Committee on Semiotic Safety
Various bloody incidents involving the Correspondence have caught the attention of Parliament. Ministers have formed the Committee on Semiotic Safety in response.
[Unlocked with Watchful 97]
Address the committee
As London's foremost scholar of the Correspondence, it is only fitting that you advise the committee.
_ challenge
Smartly done
The committee is made up of experienced politicians, but they are not academics. They need you to start from the beginning. You sketch out a symbol. The secretary twitches a little, but nothing untoward happens.
The Correspondence baffles the committee, but you sound calm and confident. They are pleased to have your experience. Could they see their way to letting you have a few blacklisted texts to help with your work? They could.
Watchful increase
Connected: Society increase
Gain: 21 x
Proscribed Material
A colleague with a problem
An acquaintance at the Department of Chiropterochronometry can't get her paper published.
[Unlocked with Watchful 97]
Help her out
The subject falls outside your field, but you know a few tricks that will appeal to the respectable journals.
_ challenge
'We shall be publishing…'
Those stuffy codgers at the Proceedings of the Royal Chiropterological Society can't see any value in your colleague's work. Luckily, you know a sub-editor at the Bat Review. It isn't so prestigious, but your colleague is happy enough when they accept the article. You've made a friend and learned some tradable academic gossip. A good day's work.
Watchful increase
Gain: 43 x
Cryptic Clue
Connected: Benthic increase
Connected: Summerset increase
Becoming a Guest Lecturer
A walk around the University
Time to get your bearings before meeting the Principal of Benthic and the Provost of Summerset…
[Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 1]
Hallowed quadrangles
Even the mist here is languid. This should be pleasant.
A life in ivory
The grandeur of the ancient buildings, first occupied by royal mistresses and then by tax-men. The oily flow of the nearby river. A finger-waving debate between two gowned lecturers and a clergyman. A pursuit between ivied trellises involving four students and a large stuffed weasel wearing a crown. Academia is nothing if not vigorous in this city. It's hard to tell where Benthic College ends and Summerset College begins. Dropsy Hall seems to belong to both. Misery House is used only by Benthic on Wednesdays. Or something. You're sure you'll work it out.
With a little observation, you can start to tell the students apart. Summerset students tend to be wealthier - you spot a Viscountess and the sons of two ministers. The Church's influence is larger, too. A sizeable minority of Summerset lecturers are clergy. There are more women among the Benthic students, and even the occasional devil. You see no actual evidence of revolutionary elements, but it wouldn't surprise you.
Benthic's Principal and Summerset's Provost are bearing down on you. They start off equidistant, but the Principal puts on a burst of somewhat undignified speed, skirts and gown flapping, and races over to shake your hand.
Featuring in the Tales of the University has increased to 2!
Omnes adsint, quamvis dementi, quamvis nefasti
The Principal of Benthic College seems delighted to meet you…
[Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 2]
Snub Benthic's Principal
You've heard that Summerset and Benthic colleges are fierce rivals. Benthic is radical, secular and not as wealthy as the more conservative, religious Summerset. Snubbing the principal would nail your colours to the Summerset mast from the outset.
Do I know you?
You pretend not to notice the Principal. When she calls your name and waves , you look over for the briefest moment. You turn away and stride over towards Summerset's Provost. The Principal is left red-faced as the Provost smiles in welcome. Your course is set.
Featuring in the Tales of the University has increased to 3 - An Honoured Visitor!
Connected: Benthic decrease
Connected: Summerset increase
Impress the Principal with your erudition
Whether you favour Benthic, Summerset or neither, you should probably still let the Principal know how extremely clever you are.
_ challenge
Making headway
You hold forth on the Correspondence. At some length. The Principal is an intelligent woman and an experienced academic. Even so, the Correspondence is a difficult field and your explanations can only convey the tiniest fragment of your learning. Nevertheless, your audience of one seems rapt.
The Principal explains that the time is right for London University to start the formal study of the Correspondence in earnest. "Those fools in Summerset don't see how important the research is," she says. "Of course, funding constraints will not allow us to establish a full Fellowship. But, might you be available to lecture on a guest basis? It would allow access to University facilities, and bring your work the attention it deserves."
Watchful increase
Featuring in the Tales of the University has increased to 3 - An Honoured Visitor!
Connected: Benthic increase
The Star and the Goat? What?
You hold forth on the Correspondence. At some length. The Principal is an intelligent woman and an experienced academic. It takes twenty minutes for you to realise that she doesn't understand the first word of your explanations.
The Principal explains that the time is right for London University to start the formal study of the Correspondence in earnest. "Those fools in Summerset don't see how important this research is," she says. "Of course, funding constraints will not allow us to establish a full Fellowship. But, might you be available to lecture on a guest basis? It would allow access to University facilities, and bring some… academic respectability to your work."
Watchful increase
Featuring in the Tales of the University has increased to 3 - An Honoured Visitor!
Superbe et sophistice
Now that you have met Benthic's Principal, Summerset's Provost would like a little word.
[Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 3]
Ignore the Provost
Summerset and Benthic colleges are fierce rivals. Benthic is radical, secular and not as nearly wealthy as the more conservative, religious Summerset. Ignoring the Provost would declare your loyalty to Benthic.
Nobody of consequence
After your chat with Benthic's Principal, you linger in the quadrangle. Eventually, the Provost emerges smiling from his offices. You march away purposefully. The Provost's smile evaporates. Your loyalty is declared.
Featuring in the Tales of the University has increased to 4 - An Honoured Visitor!
Connected: Benthic increase
Connected: Summerset decrease
Demonstrate your worth to the Provost
Surely the Provost will value discretion, and a sense of duty to the establishment. Not to mention your towering intellect. Now is your chance to impress.
_ challenge
A step on the academic ladder
You speak about the Correspondence, about duty and discretion. The Provost is a hard man to read, but you think you have impressed him. He even offers you some tea in his opulent office. Portraits of ancient royalty and ferocious bishops glare down at you.
The Provost explains that the time is right for London University to start the formal study of the Correspondence in earnest. "The Correspondence is obviously dangerous, so we must understand it," he explains. "Of course, a full programme of study would be rash at this time. But we could offer you a guest post. You'd be permitted to use the facilities here. And it would be safer for everyone."
Watchful increase
Featuring in the Tales of the University has increased to 4 - An Honoured Visitor!
Connected: Summerset increase
A new vocation
You'll need to do some paperwork to establish your new career.
[Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 4]
Sign here, and here, and here…
What's the ribbon-trimmed package that came with the paperwork? The registrar will only let you have it once you have been officially enrolled as a guest lecturer.
Splendid robes
The package contains a black silk Academic Gown. It suits you marvellously. Even if it is second hand. Even if it still has the Department of Cryptophilology crest on it. You may never take it off again. Though that could make bathing problematic. The halls of learning await you!
Gain: 1 x
Academic Gown
Featuring in the Tales of the University has increased to 5 - A Guest Lecturer!
Making cash as a Guest Lecturer
Take tutorials for a little extra cash
The Dean of Contemporary Cryptotheology is looking for tutors. The pay is decent, if irregular.
[Unlocked with Watchful 80]
[Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5]
[Unlocked with Term Passing… no more than 7]
Sign up for a few tutorials
Teaching small groups of students can't be too hard. Can it?
_ challenge
A worthy debate
These cryptotheologists are a lively lot. They are waving fingers and shouting as they enter the tutorial room, and they don't stop. They're more interested in their argument about the nature of the soul than your teaching. Wisely, you give up and join in.
There is evidence that a person is no worse off without a soul. A few of the students have already sold theirs. They are from Benthic. Summerset expels soulless students. The debate rages around the nature of devils, the reality of virtue and the role of God in all this. Fascinating stuff, and you get paid for it.
Watchful increase
Term Passing… increase
Gain: 42 x
Primordial Shriek
Watchful increase
Term Passing… increase
The golden path
Some students are here because they are gifted, or wish to improve themselves. Others are here because their parents have plenty of money.
[Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5]
[Unlocked with Term Passing… 8 and no more than 11]
Write an essay for money
The sons of the aristocracy rarely set their sights above a 'gentleman's third'. This sometimes involves paying a venal academic to write essays. The practice is prohibited, of course, but the prohibition is rarely enforced.
_ challenge
Off to the library
What? 'The influence of post-Fall neo-metaphysics on the development of light opera?'. Who set this nonsense? Well, if you must. It shouldn't take more than a few hours down at the library, and it puts a little more rostygold in your pocket. The wretch contracting you will probably be Home Secretary one day.
Watchful increase
Gain: 95 x
Rostygold
Term Passing… increase
A lack of corruption, if only by accident
You drop hints that you might be willing to perform certain academic activities for ample remuneration. You receive no enquiries. Have the young gentlemen started writing their own work? Have you been reported to the authorities?
Watchful increase
Scandal increase
Term Passing… increase
Spending the term as a Guest Lecturer
Summerset days
Summerset College educates the wealthy and the powerful, although there are many here on Church scholarships too. Perhaps the prudence and stateliness of Summerset suit you.
[Unlocked with Watchful 80]
[Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5]
[Unlocked with Term Passing… no more than 10]
Mixing in Summerset Society
Summerset College puts on a schedule of 'public' lectures, exhibitions and readings that rivals the Society calendar. You are expected to attend, naturally.
A person of ambition?
You assure the Inspector that the Correspondence is unlikely to be a source of public mayhem. You share a quiet joke with a veteran parliamentarian. You are jocularly harangued by a hunting pack of clergy. If one played one's cards correctly, this sort of occasion might be quite useful to a person of ambition.
Connected: Summerset increase
(3 change points)
Connected: Church increase
(1 change point)
Connected: Society increase
(1 change point)
Connected: Constables increase
(1 change point)
Term Passing… increase
Getting to know Summerset
The people of Benthic and Summerset Colleges rarely mix socially. One could frequent the expensive taverns and coffee houses that attract the College's members, if one were of a mind.
_ challenge
Making headway
Your opinions are sought in the restaurants and coffee houses. A civil engineer has a proposal to cover the Bazaar's spires in steel. A pair of postgraduates have a theory regarding the theological significance of the Correspondence. You advocate caution. Many of the academics here consider you a dangerous maniac, but you are definitely making progress. Having access to one of the lesser wine cellars doesn't hurt, either.
Watchful increase
Connected: Summerset increase (3 change points)
Term Passing… increase
Gain: 30 x
Greyfields 1882
Out and about at Benthic College
Benthic College is liberal, secular and afire with new ideas and radical thought. Is that your sort of thing?
[Unlocked with Watchful 80]
[Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5]
[Unlocked with Term Passing… no more than 10]
A feather in Benthic's mortar board
The Principal is quite excited that you are with Benthic. You can expect to be paraded in front of the College's patrons, whoever they are
'Actually, I think you'll find that…'
Well, one could hardly say that the patrons of Benthic College are dull. Politically volatile, experimentally artistic and occasionally infernal, but not dull. The readings and debates lack formality, the wine is a little questionable and the sandwiches less than perfect, but a liberal viewpoint and a penchant for heartfelt argument will do you good service here.
Connected: Benthic increase
Connected: Bohemian increase
Connected: Revolutionaries increase
Connected: Hell increase
Term Passing… increase
Getting to know Benthic
The people of Benthic and Summerset Colleges rarely mix socially. One could frequent the more Benthic taverns, coffee houses and common rooms if one were of a mind.
_ challenge
So this is what those popular actors must feel like
A group of theology students are trying to draw a devil out on the nature of God. A bearded fellow is expounding some eyebrow-raising political theory. All around, gossip washes over students and staff alike. Knots of academics hail you, and ask you to join them. The Correspondence is a popular topic at Benthic, and you are its prophet.
Watchful increase
Term Passing… increase
Connected: Benthic increase
Gain: 60 x
Whispered Secret
Enjoying the pace of academic life
As a guest lecturer, your duties are not always specific. Do they have any idea what you went through to learn about the Correspondence? It's time for a rest.
[Unlocked with Watchful 80]
[Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5]
[Unlocked with Term Passing… no more than 11]
Perhaps you might read a book today
You can find things to fill up your day. A little teaching, a little learning. Not too much. Wouldn't want to strain anything.
_ challenge
Ivory contentment
Tea with the staff. Tea with the students, when they're not hiding geese in each other's rooms. Perhaps a leisurely debate now and again. The pick of the libraries. The odd glass of port from the college's fine cellars. What a particularly civilised existence. They even pay you, a little.
Watchful increase
Term Passing… increase
Connected: Benthic increase
Connected: Summerset increase
Gain: 20 x
Primordial Shriek
Nightmares decrease
(1 change point)
A stroll around the quad
The quadrangle, that most essential locus of academic thought! You could have a stroll around, see if anything occurs to you.
_ challenge
The chirping of sparrows
No great insights materialise today. That said, you are out of the office, you've had some fresh air and a spot of gentle exercise. The students gossip as you stroll about. Most of it is cricket and Stoatery, but you get a better idea of who is plagiarising whom. And which of your colleagues need to be more discreet about their dalliances.
Term Passing… increase
Gain: 95 x
Whispered Secret
Watchful increase
Watchful increase
Term Passing… increase
Prepare your lectures
Presumably you'll be required to actually do some lecturing at some stage.
[Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5]
[Unlocked with Term Passing… 2 and no more than 10]
Set to work
These lectures don't write themselves. However pleased you are with your new antique fountain pen
_ challenge
Getting there
You put your pen down and lean back. You review your notes. You know, these lectures could become the basis of a text on the Correspondence. Assuming none of the students catch fire or go irrecoverably insane, you might want to publish this stuff. And you're getting new ideas for directions to take your research in. A fine day's work.
Watchful increase
Term Passing… increase
Gain: 43 x
Cryptic Clue
Is something afire?
You put your pen down and lean back. You regard your notes. Did you know all that? Did you write all that? Is that burning you can smell?
Watchful increase
Gain: 2 x
Appalling Secret
Term Passing… increase
Start on a publication
Your lectures are in hand. What you really need to do is get some work done on your monograph.
_ challenge
Flash! Crackle!
D—n it, not again! Any book or stack of papers with more than six of the symbols is reduced to cinders by a flash of stellar fire. Perhaps stone tablets are the answer? It is most frustrating having one's ideas distilled, but in a form that cannot be written down. The world is the poorer for it!
Watchful increase
Term Passing… increase
Gain: 48 x
Cryptic Clue
Not going well
By day you write. By night you dream of vast frozen gulfs of space. Behind you, something impossibly huge is screaming.
Watchful increase
Term Passing… increase
Nightmares increase
Do some teaching
This is what they pay you for. When they remember to pay you.
[Unlocked with Watchful 80]
[Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5]
[Unlocked with Term Passing… 5 and no more than 10]
Introductory lecturing
A lecture to undergraduates. You had best keep things simple.
_ challenge
A popular lecture
The lecture hall is packed. Word has spread that your lectures result in ecstatic dancing and mass hysteria. The students are worse gossips than any society matron.
You restrict your laterna magica slides to brief glimpses of the safer symbols, such as 'the absorption of a Royal house' and 'the act of kidnapping a new friend'. The students lap it up. A few report nightmares for weeks afterwards, but that is to be expected.
Watchful increase
Term Passing… increase
Gain: 42 x
Primordial Shriek
Intermediary Correspondence, for the more advanced student
Postgraduates and staff are also interested.
_ challenge
A worthy afternoon
You are lecturing to a small group in a tutorial room. A few staff are present. One is a clergyman.
You sketch complex but largely safe symbols: 'an interval of between a thousand and ten thousand years', 'a decomposing deity'. The questions afterward vary from insightful to baffling. Is the Correspondence the apology of a contrite God? Is it a matter of public health? Have the Masters of the Bazaar spoken on the matter? You have very few answers for them. Your studies must continue!
Watchful increase
Term Passing… increase
Gain: 45 x
Cryptic Clue
Do some actual research
This is what you are here for, isn't it? Or is the leisurely pace of academic life proving all too enjoyable?
[Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5]
[Unlocked with Term Passing… 8 and no more than 11]
Learned discourse
Although you don't really have peers here, conversations with other academics can be useful. And you can always work on the symbols themselves.
_ challenge
Steady progress
It's hardly a profound breakthrough, but you're making progress. You haven't discovered the meaning of any new 'letters' in a while, but you think you are starting to understand some of the grammar. Nothing has caught fire in a while, either, which is nice.
Watchful increase
Term Passing… increase
Gain: 44 x
Cryptic Clue
Must it be love?
The symbol has been eluding you for weeks. But you think you have it… No, that cannot be right, can it? Does the Correspondence really have a symbol that indicates love?
Watchful increase
a Scholar of the Correspondence increase
Gain: 44 x
Cryptic Clue
Getting to know Summerset
Feasting at Summerset
Guest lecturers are a grey area when it comes to feasting. You can get yourself invited if you're willing to call in a few favours. As long as you haven't sold your soul or anything silly. You will be seated with students, but one can't have everything.
[Unlocked with Watchful 80]
[Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5]
[Unlocked with Term Passing… no more than 7]
Attend a feast
If you remember to put on your gown and always pass the port to the left, you will do splendidly.
[Unlocked with Connected: Summerset 5]
[Unlocked with 1 x Academic Gown
_ challenge
Dining with the students
This chicken… it's actual chicken. It's been a while. Are those real, actual sprouts? They are. A person could come to enjoy dining at the College's expense.
It strikes you that these are future ministers, clergy and bankers you are dining with. People do foolish things when they are young and are drinking too much. You take note of foibles and indiscretions. These things may be very handy in a few years.
Watchful increase
Term Passing… increase
Gain: 90 x
Whispered Secret
Connected: Summerset decrease
Wounds decrease
Lurk disconsolately around the margins.
Unfortunately, you've sold your soul. Summerset does not admit the soulless. It does not permit the soulless at their feasts, and it doesn't usually allow them to enter except via the tradesmen's entrance. You might be able to get in on the port and cigars if you're lucky.
[Unlocked with 1 x Your very own Infernal Contract]
A ghost at the feast
You do manage to worm your way into the warm firelit parlour to which some of the guests withdraw later. You are shunned ostentatiously by the more pious attendants, but a Reprobate Professor and a Giggling Half-Crazed Fellow are both keen to chat with you about the trials of the soulless.
Persuasive increase
Connected: Summerset decrease
Gain: 60 x
Whispered Secret
Term Passing… increase
Wine tasting at Summerset
Summerset College is justly proud of its wine cellars. The claim that they rival the Palace cellars is a boast, but not a totally outrageous one.
Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5, Term Passing… 8-10
An evening of Oenology
If the staff respect you, you may be invited to one of Summerset's many wine tasting evenings.
Unlocked with Connected: Summerset 10
A good evening
Wisely, you discuss etiquette with a postgraduate who owes you a favour before you arrive at the event. You taste a great deal of wine. Most is excellent, but some of the more troublesome vintages are not to your taste. Fermented from poisonous toad-caps? Really? You manage to convince a few vintners that you have sway on the Feasting Committee, and you come away with samples.
Watchful increase
Term Passing … increase
Hedonist increase
Gain: 44 x
Greyfields 1882
A very good evening
Wisely, you discuss etiquette with a postgraduate who owes you a favour before you arrive at the event. You taste a great deal of wine. Most is excellent, but some of the more troublesome vintages are not to your taste. Fermented from poisonous toad-caps? Really? And what's this? A rare old vintage, forgotten behind one of the College's many stuffed mascots. Well, you need this more than Tarquin the Badger does.
Watchful increase
Term Passing … increase
Gain: 1 x
Greyfields 1868 First Sporing
Hold your own wine tasting
Officially, Summerset's wine tasting evenings are off-limits to the soulless. What nonsense! The spiritually compromised have as sensitive palates as anyone. You'll show them.
Unlocked with Your very own Infernal Contract x 1, 100 x Greyfields 1882
A civilised and modern evening
The wine tasting is a roaring success. The souled, soulless and the occasional devil rub shoulders and pass erudite comment on your vintages. The well-meaning Temperance protesters outside break out into a noisy argument about whether to protest your guests or your wine.
Secrets start flowing as the night goes on. You have to ask one deviless to put away her notebook. All in all, a fine evening. The Brass Embassy is so impressed by the good publicity that they offer to refill your cellars. Isn't Hell generous.
Watchful increase
Term Passing … increase
Gain: 87 x
Whispered Secret
The Feast of the World
The Feast of the World has arrived! Armies of servants bustle, gowns are brushed, wigs are powdered; and the great and good of the college prepare to loosen their belts.
Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5, Term Passing… 11
Fourteen courses of sheer indulgence
You suspect you were invited to talk College business. But to hell with that! You're going to enjoy yourself.
Unlocked with Connected: Summerset 15
Oh, God, the truffles!
You were flagging around the time they brought out the flaming swans, but you have your second wind now. Trifles one could lose a warship in! Brandy from before the Fall! Candied bats! You may require help to stand up. You may never feel the need to eat again.
Hedonist increase
Term Passing… increase
Connected: Summerset decrease
Business and pleasure
Although the meal - if one can term these fourteen courses merely 'a meal' - is sumptuous, Summerset also does a great deal of its business at the Great Feast. Perhaps it is time to trade influence and impress the great and good.
Unlocked with Connected: Summerset 15
A fine old evening
You are on form tonight. You share a joke with the registrar and exchange warm glances with the Provost. Is there something going on behind that supremely respectable exterior? No matter. You promise assistance here, and declaim pithy wisdom there. A series of wagers, inspired by a decanter of excellent port, sees you walking home with a significant prize won from a visiting censor from the Ministry of Public Decency.
Term Passing … increase
Gain: 1 x
London Street Sign
The World, devoured
The Feast of the World is coming to a close, as nobody could possibly eat any more. Low moans from the casualties mix with the creaking of belts.
Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5, Term Passing… 12
Propose the final toast of the evening
Being asked to propose the final toast is a great honour for a guest lecturer. Best make it a good one.
(Watchful Challenge)
Superbe et sophistice
Now is not the time for bombastic rhetoric. 'Here is to the head made heavy. To obligation, prudence and to the preservation of good things. Here is to the finest college in the world. Superbe et sophistice!'
The students lap it up, banging their crystal wine glasses on the ancient oak tables. The senior staff nod their approval and take hearty draughts. That was wisely done.
Watchful increase
Connected: Society increase
Connected: The Church increase
Connected: Constables increase
The Provost? The Provost…
The College's Provost has been stealing glances at you between courses. You're sure of it. Now, he would be a feather in your cap. Perhaps he has rooms nearby.
(Connected: Summerset challenge, Chancy at 15)
An intimate evening with the Provost
When you suggest retiring for a moment to his rooms, the Provost readily agrees. He disappears briefly into his private bathroom. You idly wonder what his wife is like.
When he returns, you have made yourself significantly more comfortable on his divan. He cannot resist you. The great feast you have recently consumed precludes athleticism, but you enjoy a languorous evening with the Provost, who is both generous and educated in some delightfully obscure arts.
You leave before the Provost's housekeeper is due to arrive. You are getting changed when a few little trifles from the cellars arrive. How sweet of him.
Scandal increase
Hedonist increase
Connected: Summerset increase
Gain: 1 x
Greyfields 1868 First Sporing
Gain: 1 x
Black Wings Absinthe
Just desserts
These bigoted fools won't let you attend the feast? Just because you're short a soul? Well, it's only right that you rob them. Even the servants are invited to the night's final toast. That's when you'll see if they have anything worth taking.
Unlocked with 1 x Your very own Infernal Contract
(Watchful Challenge)
++++A just sort of robbery
The Summerset porters have subcontracted to their Benthic colleagues for the evening. The Benthic porters' hearts aren't in it, though, as they listen to the noise of the great feast downstairs. You deduce the pattern of their patrol and slip past them easily.
So, then, what will you take? A little jewellery here, some intriguing correspondence there. It's nothing less than justice that these bigots be robbed. You hear cheers from the evening's last toast as you slip across the quadrangle and away.
Watchful increase
Gain: 2 x Sapphire
Gain: 20 x
Stolen Correspondence
Gain: 2 x Flawed Diamond
Cricket at Benthic College
Cricket at Benthic
Benthic College takes its cricket seriously. The First XI play teams from across London. It's just a pity that the old enemy, the Summerset Gentlemen, pulled out of the competition when the Brass Embassy started fielding a team.
Unlocked with Watchful 80, Featuring in the Tales of the University 5, Term Passing 0-7
Demonstrate your cricketing knowledge
The next match is against the Brass Embassy Ladies. Can you impress the cricketing crowd with your knowledge of 'the gentleman's game'?
Unlocked with Connected Benthic 5
(Watchful Challenge)
Law 52: Infernal teams shall be shod so as not to scorch the pitch
'It was a pacey ball, short of a length. She got a thick edge to it, but it went roofwards and was scooped handily by the keeper. Nicely done, I thought. The bowler has a future if he can master his line. Short and fast at a lady is a little gauche, however, even if she is a devil.'.
Without doubt, you know your cricket. You prognosticate on the matter of form and the cricketers bring out their somewhat forbidden almanacks. You share rare wisdom between almost-cucumber sandwiches.
Watchful increase
Term Passing … increase
Connected: Benthic increase
Gain: 42 x
Cryptic Clue
Picking the team
Benthic College is selecting the First XI team for the upcoming match against the Brass Embassy Ladies.
Unlocked with Term Passing… 8-10, Featuring in the Tales of the University 5
Involve yourself
Which of the spinners are on form? Does the opener have an unfortunate tendency to the agricultural carve? Is your standing in Benthic College sufficient for such pronouncements?
Unlocked with Connected Benthic 10
'Hmm. I'm not sure I like my pace cack handed…'
You share a battenberg with a Saturnine Registrar and discuss matters. It's something of an honour to be allowed to influence the first XI, but your cricketing wisdom is acknowledged and your reputation is secured. The registrar lends you his copy of the suppressed cricketer's almanack.
Watchful increase
Term Passing … increase
Gain: 22 x
Proscribed Material
'Hmm. I'm not sure I like my pace cack handed…'
You share a battenberg with a Saturnine Registrar and discuss matters. It's something of an honour to be allowed to influence the first XI, but your cricketing wisdom is acknowledged and your reputation is secured. The registrar lends you his copy of the suppressed cricketer's almanack. And what's this written in the flyleaf? No! It can't be!
Watchful increase
Term Passing … increase
Gain: 22 x
Proscribed Material
Gain: 1 x
Appalling Secret
'She's consistently caught behind…'
You share a Battenberg with a Saturnine Registrar and discuss matters. It's something of an honour to be allowed to influence the first XI. You mention dispensing with a tail ender on variable form. She is his wife, and a fairly senior phrenologist. Things proceed badly. You don't get any more cake, certainly.
Term Passing … increase
Connected: Benthic decrease
Match day
The day of the cricket match has arrived! Leather cracks off willow! Tea and sandwiches! The Brass Embassy Ladies await the Benthic XI, splendid in their cricketing pinks.
Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5, Term Passing… 11
A serious business
A great deal of college business is conducted at cricket matches. Perhaps an ambitious academic should smile and shake hands and impress the authorities.
Unlocked with Connected: Benthic 15
A day out at the match
You share a joke about the opposing team's bowler with the registrar. You commiserate with the bursar over college finances. The Principal nods at you graciously from the dignitaries' stand. Matters are proceeding swimmingly. You enter into a series of wagers with the phrenologists regarding maiden overs and the shape of a bowler's head. Always easy marks, phrenologists.
Watchful increase
Term Passing… increase
Gain: 75 x
Drop of Prisoner's Honey
Oh no!
It seems that college business is only discussed when the home team are fielding, in the first innings. What a faux pas! You watch the rest of the match alone.
Watchful increase
Term Passing… increase
Connected: Benthic decrease (dropped from 16 -> 14 for me)
The twelfth woman
The substitute player has been taken ill. Infernal poisoning is suspected, of course, but the Ladies' captain is the picture of yellow-eyed innocence. Can you step in?
Unlocked with Connected: Benthic 15
A matter of luck: it could go either way.
Thwack!
A solid forward drive sends the Ladies' fielders sprawling, and you rack up another boundary. You are in the tail end of the batting order, so nobody expects miracles. You're putting on a good show, though, and applause ripples around the ground. Perhaps you'll be considered for the first XI next term. And you'll not soon forget what the Ladies' pace bowler whispered in your ear. You're still not sure whether it was a foul curse or a unique offer.
Term Passing… increase
Connected: Benthic increase
Connected: Hell increase
Gain: 1 x
Appalling Secret
Not today
Alas, the captain of the Benthic XI doesn't feel the need for a substitution yet. Dressed in a rather motheaten spare sweater, you watch the proceedings from the pavilion. The sandwiches are pretty good, though.
Term Passing… increase
Connected: Benthic]]] decrease
The end of the match
To get anywhere near the match, one must have a certain standing with Benthic College.
Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5, Term Passing… 12
Nobble the Benthic team
That's hardly cricket. And if you're found out, things could go very badly. But the devils will appreciate it.
Unlocked with Connected: Benthic 10
(Shadowy challenge)
Not a yorker in sight
After your enhancements to their cucumber sandwiches, the batting order of Benthic XI could barely stand, and their bowling endangered the local bat population rather than the wicket. You exchange nods and smiles with some of the infernal crowd at the match, although a few of the Brass Embassy Ladies throw you fierce looks.
When you return to your office, you see a parcel on your desk. It contains eleven little bottles, and a sheaf of paper. Most are old contracts, but… what's this? 'We find in the darkness of the abyss…' Fascinating.
Shadowy increase
Connected: Hell increase
(at least 28 change points)
Gain: 11 x Infernal Contract
Gain: 1 x
Appalling Secret
Connected: Benthic decrease
Gain: 11 x
Soul
Display admirable sportsmanship
Cheer the Benthic spinners. Applaud graciously when the Ladies' opener hits another boundary. Pass informed comment on the fielding. Comport yourself with dignity and fine sportsmanship.
Unlocked with Connected: Benthic 15
Diamonds at the pavilion
You applaud, you sympathise, you comment. By the time the last wicket falls, you have attracted a considerable following of Benthic notables. They desire your wisdom and are impressed by your conduct.
You are invited to the pavilion after the match. It is a rare honour, and the players are pleased to shake your hand. The Brass Ladies spinner takes you aside. 'Such a just and sporting person as yourself would do well in the Embassy. You should visit us.'
Is this a joke? Even if it is, the spinner presents you with a sparkling diamond bracelet in promise of things to come. Although she wasn't wearing it on her wrist, it is still warm.
Connected: Hell increase
Gain: 11 x Infernal Contract
Gain: 30 x Flawed Diamond
Connected: Benthic increase
Steadfast increase
A merry wager
A jolly devil approaches you with a wager on the outcome of the match. If Benthic XI win, you receive an ancient text concerning the Correspondence. If the Brass Embassy Ladies win, you must publicly punch the Summerset chaplain. The scores are almost equal - the match could go either way.
Unlocked with Connected: Benthic 15
A matter of luck: it could go either way.
A wager fairly won
Your hopes sink as the Brass Embassy Ladies send another delivery sailing to the boundary. Two days of cricket is a long time when your dignity is at stake. That's it - they've declared, as usual, at 660. Can the Benthic XI match such a formidable total? A batting collapse at the tail means for an agonising six hours. But, the last batsmen battle on and finally surpass the infernal total. Benthic has won! You claim your prize from the ever-smiling devil.
Your prize is a spiral-shelled fossil, four feet across, bearing the mind-burning letters of the Correspondence. Let's see. An exchange. Freedom. Death by water, again. Studying the thing will have to wait a little while. It's surely long past time for dinner.
A Scholar of the Correspondence increase
Unaccountably Peckish increase
'Oh, well played ladies…'
Your hopes sink as the Brass Embassy Ladies send another delivery sailing to the boundary. That's it - they've declared, as usual, at 660. Can the Benthic XI match such a formidable total? No, they cannot.
Your agreement specified that the forfeit be performed before nightfall. Best get this over with.
Connected: The Church decrease
Connected: Benthic decrease
Connected: Summerset decrease
Spending the term with The Stoats
The Stoats
One University institution is refreshingly socially diverse. Members of Benthic and Summerset alike are welcome to join the Stoats Society. The only qualification required is an ability to consume port as if it were going to be banned tomorrow.
Unlocked with Watchful 80, Featuring in the Tales of the University 5, Term Passing 0-7
Get involved
The Stoats are mainly students, but some younger faculty members are also involved. And clubs like this are nurseries for power and influence.
(Persuasive challenge)
'Well, as it happens, I can help you.'
You follow the Stoats' Social and Entertainments Secretary to a tea-shop one afternoon, and invite him to partake of a spot of cake with you. His title may be grand, but the fellow seems exhausted and liverish. He accepts your offer with langour, but perks up once he's had a few cups of tea.
You present your interest as a request for advice. Where, you ask, might someone such as yourself find the choicest amusements available to University members? You are sure that such a hearty and discerning fellow must have some pointers! Flattery is the right approach; you find yourself with an open invitation to attend Stoats' meetings. The Secretary also forgets his library books when he leaves. Ooh, and these are from one very particular part of the library.
Persuasive increase
Gain: 21 x
Proscribed Material
Term Passing… increase
Connected: Benthic increase
Connected: Summerset increase
Fun with the Stoats
Attend one of the Stoats' evening meetings…
Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5, Term Passing… 8-10
Take the bravery challenge
This is a simple test of nerves. You merely have to climb the chapel spire. This evening. Wearing your gown. After consuming a bottle of one of the lesser ports in Benthic's cellars.
(Dangerous challenge, High Risk at 85)
Gracefully done
After the port is empty, you wobble to the chapel, followed by an eager crowd of Stoats. You fasten your gown and start climbing. The spire seems taller than it did, and the gargoyle-studded stonework is slippery with condensation.
Nevertheless, luck is on your side. You do not look up or down; therefore, you keep your balance and your head. After your triumphant descent, you are carried all the way back to your rooms, and awarded a little prize.
Dangerous increase
Gain: 30 x
Greyfields 1879
Gain: 30 x
Greyfields 1882
Term Passing… increase
Ouch
You lurch across the quad to the chapel, and stare up the spire. It seems so very tall. But you can't back out - you're surrounded by a crowd of cheering Stoats. You set off.
You are doing well, until about halfway up, where you encounter a particularly revolting gargoyle. You try to grip its protruding tongue - and your hand slides straight off. If you were more sober, you would be able to recover, but as it is…the flagstones are hard, and the ridicule harder still.
Term Passing… increase
Dangerous increase
Wounds increase
More fun with the Stoats
Do not let anything that may have happened before put you off attending another Stoats' meeting this afternoon. This one promises to be wilder than ever, according to the chair of the Japes Committee.
Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5, Term Passing… 11
Join in this week's caper
The challenge is simple. Each Stoat is issued with a bucket of custard and the group disperses. Once half an hour has passed, any Stoat may throw custard at any other, unless they have been hit already. Last Stoat left unmarked wins.
(Watchful Challenge)
Oh, nicely played
You take your bucket up to the roof of the buttery, next to the Library. Custard in these quantities is weighty, especially in an iron bucket. Luckily, you are stronger than the average dissolute student and you assume correctly that no one else will have the same idea. You lie in wait.
Your lair is the perfect sniping position. You are high enough up not to be easily spotted, and everyone visits the buttery at some point or another as the day wears on. You see several Stoats already decorated with custard, and lob well-aimed spoonfuls at those who still have their buckets. It is almost too easy. One by one, you pick them off, and by evening you are declared the winner. The prize is predictable, but no less enjoyable for that.
Dangerous increase
Gain: 45 x
Greyfields 1882
Term Passing… increase
Stoats' Honour
The Young Stags Club, favourite haunt of the rich, young and idle, is trying to poach three leading members of the Stoats. Clearly a political move. Help the Stoats maintain its reputation as the University's leading club dedicated to carousing, gossip and wine appreciation.
Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5, Term Passing… 12
A matter of honour
The chair of the Stoats' Port and Wine Committee hatches a plan to humiliate the Stags by stealing their precious golden croquet mallet - a treasured gift from the Traitor Empress herself. Your help would be invaluable.
(Shadowy challenge)
Honour restored
You don't want everyone to know about your burglarous accomplishments. You invent a 'friend' who is skilled at picking locks and other tricks of the trade, and claim he will help you steal the treasure.
The Young Stags' premises are in an exclusive part of town near the Palace. By day, the members will all be still abed, and dressed as a tradesperson, you will have no trouble gaining access. You obtain a few crates of jellied zee-urchins for cover, and sneak in.
The gold mallet is kept in a locked display case, but the lock is no match for you. You wrap it in your gown - handy, that gown - and saunter out. It is not easy to saunter carrying this much gold, but you manage it. A hungover rake mumbles an enquiry, but you say something about mending the roof and he wanders off.
The Stoats greet your triumph with delight, backslapping and, yes, several crates of Greyfields. And they do not notice that you made a small detour to shave off some of the gold for yourself.
Shadowy increase
Making Waves increase
Gain: 80 x
Rostygold
Gain: 60 x
Greyfields 1882
Spending the term at the Library
Off to the library
Getting any work done in your office is becoming difficult. Students keep bothering you, and there is a steady trickle of visitors asking to see your symbols. That sparrow is looking at you funny.
[Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5 ]
[Unlocked with Watchful 80]
A day at the library
The University library is airy, well-lit and modern. It has plenty of space to work, and you are less likely to be found.
_ challenge
What was that?
The library is impressive. Huge windows would be letting in swathes of sunlight, if there were sunlight. Wide halls and serene, ever-present librarians. Modern, workable indexing systems. Gas lamps in abundance.
You settle down to work in a comfortable niche. You are disturbed once by a great bouncing thump from the roof. It doesn't seem to perturb anyone else. You get back to decoding the works of a now-insane philologist.
Watchful increase
Term Passing… increase
Gain: 21 x
Proscribed Material
Back to the library
The higher levels of the library tend to hold the more obscure and volatile works. The joke is that the men from the Ministry can't be bothered with the stairs.
Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5, Term Passing… 8-10
In the high stacks
While hunting down Bircher's Symbology, Madness and Death, you come across a knot of students whispering conspiratorially. One could eavesdrop.
Laughing Weasel?
A few students - Benthic types if you had to guess - are conversing with some down-at-heel, soot-stained vagabonds. In code. That's careful of them, and intriguing.
You're not sure who the Laughing Dog might be, but a Bad Apple is probably a theft. A Laughing Weasel is an inflammatory pamphlet. The Convent is Veilgarden. Conversation goes on in this vein for some time. Revolution in the library, or innocent student prankery?
Watchful increase
Term Passing … increase
Gain: 44 x
Cryptic Clue
Once more to the library
You are still hunting down Bircher's multi-volume opus Symbology, Madness and Death. It's on the proscribed list, but that's hardly the point.
Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5, Term Passing… 11
Bribe a librarian
The University's librarians are competent and serene. And poorly paid, thank goodness. The going rate for a proscribed volume is measured in cases.
Unlocked with 120 x Greyfields 1879
A deal behind a lion
The actual handover happens behind a stone lion in the quadrangle. The library itself has too many eyes, apparently. The librarian is true to her word. It's only one volume, but it has some handwritten notes in the margins. This should help you a great deal.
Lose: 120 x
Greyfields 1879
Term Passing… increase
Gain: 50 x
Proscribed Material
Hunt for the book yourself
You know that they have a copy somewhere. You've seen the chaplain reading it, hidden in a copy of the gazette.
Sorry about that, porter
The problem with this place is that they keep moving the books around. Why do they do that? Is it a superstitious ritual to ward off book-haunting spirits? Or to keep light-fingered academics like yourself on their toes?
This time you're ahead of them. You know the book-movement schedule is received every 29 days from the Chiropterochronometry department. You bump into the porter delivering the document and glance over as she rushes to pick it up. Oh, you're good. You go into the stacks the next day and handily pick out the volume. It's a little ratty and has a few pages missing, but it will do nicely.
Watchful increase
Term Passing … increase
Gain: 40 x
Proscribed Material
The library roof
Late one night at the library, you are lurking in the highest stack when a hatch opens in the ceilings. A flock of rough soot-stained anarchists tumbles through, fresh from the Flit. Revolutionaries on the roof!
Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5, Term Passing… 12
Report them to the college authorities
Not even Benthic College appreciates anarchists in the attic. However, the University does appreciate delicate matters being handled quietly. But will the authorities even believe you?
(Connected: Benthic and Connected: Summerset challenge)
Sherry and whisky
Both the Principal and the Provost were aware of volatile politics among the student body, but revolutionaries on the roof is a step too far. The next day, you see workers hammering sheets of metal onto the roof. No actual reward is forthcoming, but you are invited for sherry with the Provost the next day. After that, it is cake and whisky with the Principal. You have done your standing here no harm at all.
Connected: Benthic increase
Connected: Summerset increase
Report them to the Constables
There is no place for these ruffians in this castle of scholarship. To the gallows with them!
A hue and cry
You raise the alarm. The library is being burgled by ruffians! The librarians shake their heads sadly at you and join in, albeit half-heartedly. The Constables soon arrive. A few of the anarchists manage to scrabble back to the Flit, but the bulk are apprehended. Most are immediately sent to the gallows, but one woman is notorious and long-sought by the constables. She, you hear, will be sent to the Orphanage. The Provost and Principal are grateful, and allow you access to one of the lesser restricted collections.
Connected: Constables increase
Connected: Revolutionariesdecrease
(From 48 to 18, massive)
Gain: 40 x
Proscribed Material
Comrades
'Greetings, brothers and sisters! Allow me to distract the librarian for you? Are you here to further the cause?'
Books and the cause
The anarchists are surprised to find an ally in the library, but they soon warm to you. They pass around the distressing spirits of the Flit and tell you tales of hardship and revolutionary fervour. They seek your aid in preaching the cause among the students, and give you a share of the forbidden books they were here to steal. For the revolution!
Connected: Revolutionaries increase
Gain: 25 x
Proscribed Material
Blackmail
'Is it the books you're after, or the students? I suppose it doesn't matter. But using this library is going to cost you, brothers and sisters.'
A pleasing haul
The anarchists empty their pockets of forbidden books, loose change and in one case, her supper. You take the lot. It seems that you are a lackey, a foe of the common man and a villain. Furthermore, your name will be remembered when the glorious revolution comes. Well enough. Perhaps you will not be holding your breath in anticipation. So, then, the pie shop first or the tavern?
Connected: Revolutionaries
decrease
Gain: 50 x
Proscribed Material
Gain: 90 x
Rostygold
Gain: 5 x
Rat on a String
Investigating the murder in the library
The Body in the Library
One of the research fellows in the Department of Antiquarian Esquivalience has been found dead! Slumped on his usual table in the library! At first, simple overindulgence is assumed to be the cause of death; then, someone mentions that the fellow is not a redhead, and the bloodied candlestick is found…
Unlocked with Watchful 80, Featuring in the Tales of the University 5, Term Passing… 6-7
Inspect the body
The research fellow is going to take a while to recover from his death - head injuries will do that. The University Proctors have been summoned to investigate. One of them, who has connections to the Constables and a certain Implacable Detective, suggests asking for your help.
Unlocked with Connected: The Constables 2
(Watchful Challenge)
A clue!
You agree to take a look at the body and offer your expert opinion. The Proctors are a hardened lot, and have seen many things, but the ones standing guard in the library are pale and subdued. This might be nasty.
Still, you have a job to do and you do it. You look first at the head wound. It seems consistent with the base of the heavy candlestick, and you conclude that the assailant will probably have got his clothes bloody. Next, you inspect the hands; there, caught between finger and thumb, a scrap of paper. All you can make out through the bloodstains are the letters O-V-E. You place it in a brown envelope.
Next, you examine the surroundings. There is only one space on the desk that is not covered in books and papers; the likely deduction is that something was removed, therefore, although among this chaos, it will not be easy to find out what. As they carry the victim back to his rooms to begin recuperation, one of the Proctors presents you with the first instalment of your consulting fee and wishes you good luck.
Watchful increase
Gain: 85 x
Rostygold
Term Passing… increase
Begin your investigation
You are beginning your enquiry into the murder of the research fellow in Antiquarian Esquivalience. He has not woken up yet, so how to proceed?
Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5, Term Passing… 8-10
Interrogate the library staff
They probably see more than the academic staff or the students do, after all.
A useful snippet
You speak to a group of the library staff. They are, as one might expect, reticent; they seem horrified by the grisly nature of the murder, and terrified that it might only be the beginning.
You reassure them that bludgeoning is definitely not Jack-of-Smiles' style, and that the most likely culprit is a personal enemy of the deceased. They relax a bit, and offer a few bits of information. The research fellow likes to work in the same spot every day; he's very fond of penny-dreadfuls, and he likes crumpets. This makes him unpopular amongst the staff, who are exasperated by his dripping butter on valuable books.
Hmm. You make a note that the Assistant Deputy Librarian seems more agitated than the others. Does she have something to hide? Does she know anything about the mysterious scrap of paper you found clutched in the victim's hand? The Proctors are happy with your work so far, and you receive the next instalment of your reward.
Watchful increase
Gain: 95 x
Rostygold
Term Passing … increase
Interrogate his colleagues
It will make them feel appropriately important, after all.
Something interesting
The victim's field of research is not the most esoteric in the University, but it's fairly safe to say that few outside the department really understand what it actually is. So it's not surprising that they are an insular group.
One of the more junior scholars does let it slip, though, that the Professor of the department had recently been accused by the deceased of stealing bits of his research. Juicy though this sounds, it is a pretty common occurrence, but you note it down just in case. It gives you something to show the Proctors when you claim your interim payment. And you did suspect a book was missing from his desk…
Watchful increase
Gain: 95 x
Rostygold
Term Passing … increase
Talk to the deceased
The recently murdered junior research fellow in Antiquarian Esquivalience has woken up! His injuries are pretty nasty. It looks like he's destined for the tomb-colonies. You need to get his witness statement before he goes.
Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5, Term Passing… 11
Interrogate the victim
They say he is lucid, now. Visit him in his rooms before he gets distracted by his packing.
An unreliable witness
You turn up bearing armfuls of penny-dreadfuls and spore-toffees. The junior fellow is sitting up in bed, grumbling and clutching his bandaged head. You offer a sympathetic ear.
He is only too happy to talk about the dreadful experience of being bludgeoned with a candlestick. 'That night, I was working in the library, as usual,' he begins. 'I had just set out my pot of tea and plate of crumpets, and was about to begin studying some rather interesting texts that I had recently , er… acquired. I heard footsteps behind me, so I turned - but all I saw was the aura of a candle flame. Then, an almighty explosion, and the world went black, until I woke up in bed with a revolting headache. Well, naturally, I thought this meant there must have been a Feast, but no, they tell me I was murdered! And now, would you believe it, my wounds are considered "excessively serious" and I have to go to the Tomb-Colonies. At this critical juncture in my research! I don't know how I'm going to get all my books packed and my notes and my weasels and my …'
This goes on at some length. But you hear no more of any use. Still, an interim payment from the Proctors is forthcoming.
Watchful increase
Gain: 108 x
Rostygold
Term Passing … increase
Name the murderer!
The recently murdered junior research fellow in Antiquarian Esquivalience has recovered somewhat, but he departs for the Tomb-Colonies very soon. Can you name his assailant before he leaves?
Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5, Term Passing… 12
Accuse the Assistant Deputy Librarian of seeking revenge
She seemed very nervous during your investigations. And she had a motive of sorts - his persistent dripping of hot butter onto books.
Means, motive and opportunity
You gather the academics, library staff and Proctors at the scene of the crime. The recently deceased is wheeled over in a bath chair to join you.
You marshal the evidence masterfully. A latter-day Cicero! The main clues were the book missing from the victim's desk, and the scrap of paper clutched in his fist, the letters O-V-E just visible through the bloodstains. At first, you conjectured that the book had been stolen, which pointed to academic rivalry as a motive. Secondly, the piece of paper - could O-V-E had indicated a love letter? Could that be the motive?
No. In fact, the only story that explains both of these clues is this. The Assistant Deputy Librarian was so tired of the victim's habit of eating crumpets at his desk that she wrote him a note. 'My tolerance is OVER,' it read. The junior fellow received the note, but that night, brought his tea and crumpets to his desk as usual. The Librarian observed him bite into one, dripping melted butter onto a rather rare book. In exasperation, she snatched up a candlestick and stove his head in! Then she took the book, which she hoped to treat with blotting-paper, and tore the incriminating note from the victim's grasp.
Silence falls as you finish speaking. Then the victim heaves himself out of his bath chair and starts jabbing at his murderer with his walking stick. Chaos descends, and you withdraw gratefully to collect a substantial reward from the Chief Proctor.
Watchful increase
Gain: 250 x
Rostygold
Accuse the Professor of academic jealousy
You have heard the rumours about academic rivalry and theft of ideas. And there was a book missing from the victim's library desk. Who but the Professor would have killed just to protect ideas? Still, it is a bold move to accuse someone so eminent.
How embarrassing
You gather the academics, the library staff and the Proctors back at the scene of the crime. The recently deceased is wheeled over in a bath chair to join you.
Dramatically, you point your finger at the Professor. 'The victim was stealing your ideas! I believe we will find the missing book in your possession.'
'Ahem,' says the Professor. 'Actually, I was stealing his ideas. And now he is to leave, I am to be deprived of them. I do not know who did murder the fellow, but it was not me.' Hm. Whether or not it is the truth, the Proctors seem inclined to believe this, admittedly very unflattering, admission.
Watchful increase
Accuse the Assistant Deputy Librarian of romantic jealousy
It is most likely that the scrap of paper you found in the victim's hand was a love letter. The letters O-V-E would suggest as much. And the Assistant Deputy Librarian has been extremely nervous every time you have seen her.
No blushes spared
You gather the academics, library staff and Proctors at the scene of the crime. The recently deceased is wheeled over in a bath chair to join you.
You explain your theory of a love letter, snatched as the murderer fled the scene of the crime. You point an accusatory finger at the Assistant Deputy Librarian, declaring her stammers and blushes clear indicators of guilt.
Sadly for you, though, one of the Proctors leaps to her defence. It soon turns out that he and the Librarian are conducting a clandestine intrigue… Her blushes are explained as merely a reaction to the presence of her beloved. How frustrating.
Watchful increase
Accuse the Professor of romantic intrigue
This is a risky move - but common or garden academic rivalry is no motive for murder, and what else could the paper you found mean? The letters O-V-E must surely be part of the word 'love', must they not?
Alas.
You gather the academics, library staff and Proctors at the scene of the crime. The recently deceased is wheeled over in a bath chair to join you.
You surmise that the Professor and the junior fellow were two thirds of a love triangle involving an unnamed third party. You speculate that only romantic passion could explain the force with which the victim's head was struck. It sounds very convincing as you say it.
Unfortunately, the Proctors disagree. One of them, scarlet with embarrassment, draws you aside to set a few facts straight. Everyone shuffles a bit, and someone coughs. Oh dear.
Watchful increase
The Public Debate
A public debate
The issue of the Neath's soulless population is an interesting one, and worthy of debate.
Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5, Term Passing… 8-10
Encourage a debate on souls
The colleges put on public debates every term. Questions regarding the nature of souls and what it means to be soulless are a little controversial, but the chaplain who oversees the debates might be persuaded to debate them.
Unlocked with Connected Benthic 5, Connected: Summerset 5
In the open
'On the nature of souls? Ah, you have me in two minds. On one hand, this sort of debate brings out all manner of devils and spirifers. On the other, Benthic is full of these undesirables in any case. And it would be in the public interest to get some of the horrors of the soul trade out into the open. I will see what I can do.'
The chaplain scurries off, scattering papers in his wake.
Watchful increase
Term Passing … increase
Gain: 17 x
Stolen Correspondence
The day of the debate
Notable figures and shadowy characters are attending the University's public debate. The proposition is: 'Should the soul trade continue in any form?'
Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5, Term Passing 11
Be vigilant
Such a debate will attract spirifers. You will not allow them to practice their foul trade.
Unlocked with Shepherd's Timepiece 1
Listen to the argument for
The devils know better than to lead the argument themselves. There are several soulless citizens ready to speak.
What value a soul?
The soulless gentleman is a junior partner at Fowlingpiece & Baseborn, a noted firm of lawyers. His words are not fiery, but he stands erect and speaks with measured confidence.
'What use is a soul? It is nothing. I have no soul, and I stand before you today a respected professional. I work. I laugh. I love my children. I play the oboe. My soul is not missed. The money I received for it paid for my legal education and made me the man I am today. The soul trade is a boon to London and it should continue unmolested by backward-looking lollygaggers and half-wits.'
Watchful increase
Term Passing… Increase
Listen to the argument against
The argument against the soul trade is led by Summerset's chaplain.
What value a soul?
'What use is a soul? It is all we have. When our bodies are dust and our works forgotten, the soul is all that is left, all that we are. It an act of blasphemy to deal in souls, whether as buyer or seller. And it is foolish in practice! What do the devils do with souls? They carry them off to Hell! Have you ever heard of a soul returning from Hell? Would you believe a single word that a devil says about Hell? You would be a fool. The soul trade is a foul blight on the Neath. It must end!'
Watchful increase
Term Passing… increase
Watch for opportunities
What better place to look for those who may be harvested?.
Unlocked with 1 x Spirifer's Fork
The debate closes
The public debate on the soul trade is coming to a close. Are you going to speak?
Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 5, Term Passing… 12
Speak for the proposition
The soul trade is a boon to London. Argue your case with eloquence and style.
(Watchful Challenge)
A fair trade
You speak of freedom and a modern, rational approach to the mysteries of the world. You speak of the accomplishments of soulless citizens, and their endurance of years of prejudice and ignorance. You speak of the value of trade with the Brass Embassy. The audience mutter their agreement. Who among them could not make use of a sack of deliciously warm brass?
The vote goes your way: cheers are raised from the students and public alike. Tonight could be a turning point. In your own small way, you have perpetuated the soul trade and defended the Neath's soulless. The Embassy sends you a little token of their thanks.
Watchful increase
Connected: Hell increase
(at least 35 change points)
Gain: 150 x
Moon-pearl
Speak against the proposition
The soul trade is a foul blight on London. Logic and reason will serve you better here than impassioned rhetoric.
(Watchful Challenge)
Lighting the way
You speak of duty, of decency and of prudence. You speak of blasphemy and retribution. You speak of uncertainty and the nature of devils. The audience mutter their agreement. For who among them is sure about what happens to all these souls?
The vote goes your way: cheers rise from the students and public alike. Tonight could be a turning point. In your own small way, you have helped the public see the trade for what it is - a canker gnawing on London. For lighting the way, the chaplain sends you some candles.
Watchful increase
Connected: The Church increase
Gain: 150 x
Foxfire Candle Stub
Other options available as a Guest Lecturer
A most notable academic
Unlocked with Watchful 97, Featuring in the Tales of the University 5
You've been enjoying the leisurely pace of a guest lecturer's life for long enough. It is time to establish your academic reputation.
The Department of the Correspondence!
Enough of staying in bed until noon. Enough of cricket. It is time to create your own department. The Department of the Correspondence. [Warning: you may wish to finish the term's business before continuing. You will not have time for such fripperies once you are under way.]
Onwards to glory!
You are resolved. It will take hard work and considerable patronage to create the Department of the Correspondence. There will be casualties. It's quite possible that the University will burn to cinders within the year. But that hardly matters. Onwards to glory!
An occurrence! Your 'Featuring in the Tales of the University' Quality is now 6!
Forming your own department
Open reaching Featuring in the Tales of the University quality of six you can start working on your own department in the University. These tales are described here.
