January’s Exceptional Story: Lamentation Lock

Fallen London
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[color=#cc0099]Delicious friends, the Exceptional Story for January is here!

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Pursue a smuggler to Lamentation Lock, built halfway between the Neath and the Surface. Trade in brutality, disquiet and estrangement with those who fled their sins.

Lamentation Lock is the second story in the Season of Silver, and was written by Gavin Inglis. This season, experience three stories that delve into debts, obligations, and contracts gone wrong. You can begin each from the Season of Silver card.

Editing and QA: Cash DeCuir, James Chew, Olivia Wood and Caolain Porter.

Art by Paul Arendt.

EXCEPTIONAL FRIENDSHIP

In addition to a new, substantial, stand-alone story every month, Exceptional Friends enjoy:

[ul][li]Access to the House of Chimes: an exclusive private member’s club on the Stolen River, packed with content[/li][li]An expanded opportunity deck: of ten cards instead of six![/li][li]A second candle: Twice the actions! 40 at once![/li][/ul]Finishing all three stories in the Season of Silver will make you eligible for an additional opportunity, to follow.

If you want to keep an Exceptional Story beyond the month it’s for, you must complete the related storylet in the current Season’s card throughout London. This will save it for you to return to another time.[/color]
edited by Absintheuse on 12/28/2017
edited by Absintheuse on 12/28/2017

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ok, I really really liked this story, but I’ve got a nit to pick:

if the gate you embark at to enter the Lock is at water level, shouldnt the structure of the Lock also be at water level? and doesn’t the water level shift in every lock to allow access to the locks next to it?

so, how does the Lock have windows? they’d have to be cut into the gate itself, or into the stone structure attached to the gate, and thus would fill with water each time the water levels would balance up to allow ships to move to the Surface

did I miss something here or am I just misunderstanding the engineering of fictional megastructures

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So is the story called “Lamentation Lock” as in this thread here, or “The Cumaean Exchange”, as the game indicates when playing the starting storylet (buying chocolate).

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I liked this ES. I felt the actual ending was a little weak, and I think it could have done with a Persuasive Wing, but the overall story was really fun. Does leave me with more questions than answers, though.

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My favorite ES of this particular series, by a long shot! It had everything I like about Fallen London: The grimdark side of Victorian London, subtle supernatural stirrings, intrigue, a rewarding feeling for completionists and a hefty dose of mystery.

Well, except the sailing action sink on the way to the Lock itself. That was a bummer.

As was finding out my new…friends? Apparently don’t become companions. Hopefully they’ll show up in the real conclusion to the Season of Silver. On that note, I never did understand what’s so valuable about the coins, even back when they weren’t the center of an ES. Sure they’re very old and very rare, but I bet you couldn’t buy the violin played by the Traitor Empress’ consort for any number of Egyptian relics.

[quote=IHNIWTR]ok, I really really liked this story, but I’ve got a nit to pick:

if the gate you embark at to enter the Lock is at water level, shouldnt the structure of the Lock also be at water level? and doesn’t the water level shift in every lock to allow access to the locks next to it?

so, how does the Lock have windows? they’d have to be cut into the gate itself, or into the stone structure attached to the gate, and thus would fill with water each time the water levels would balance up to allow ships to move to the Surface

did I miss something here or am I just misunderstanding the engineering of fictional megastructures[/quote]

[li]
The anthropomorphic personification of the dark abyss beneath the waves may or may not be a lonely woman who wants to abduct somebody to be her lover in an alternate, empty version of Fallen London. There are, however, definitely a number of temples dedicated to her built at depths temples should not be built at.

So coupled with the line in contemplating in your room about whether it might be possible to ascend further in the Lock, I just put it down to Neathy water being eldritch.

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Just a note, the option to hear an escape plan has a typo.

Apart from that, though, I have to say that I’m liking this so far. Has anyone tried to leave early and what happened to them?

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I’m somewhat sad that it only accounts for you betraying everyone, redeeming everyone or redeeming just one person. I didn’t care for the Pugilist’s story, and I do like fighting strong entities in the Neath, so she went down.

Apparently that means that only one other person got to go out with me, even though the text before the choice acknowledged both Ascetic Housebreaker and the Hollow-eyed Turncoat being near the exit. Ultimately I chose the Housebreaker, but I imagine my character saying: &quotSorry, even though I inspired you to leave, I can’t take you with me because I clobbered someone in a different ward. Bye.&quot to the Turncoat and just running off. Very cruel and unusual punishment.

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I seem to have chosen actions that took things from evening straight to morning without night! What’s up with that?

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The day resets when you leave an area for…some reason.

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So, at the end you get the coin. (This isn’t a spoiler. It’s what the current season is about, and you go off looking for it in the first place.)
I don’t recall getting a coin for November though. Or was that just me?

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I don’t think we got a coin last month. We got a locket instead.
edited by suinicide on 12/28/2017

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EDIT: Ah, never mind; I’ve figured that out. As suinicide says, the time of day resets when you leave an area and the game doesn’t necessarily tell you about that kind of reset. I also figured out that you need to earn X’s progress in the relevant area (e.g., Violent Ward = Bruiser’s Progress) before you leave that area for the Commons.
edited by cathyr19355 on 12/29/2017
edited by cathyr19355 on 12/31/2017

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Does someone have a record of what happens when you challenge and beat the pugilist? FL lagged out while trying to load the results, and when I refreshed I was booted back to the violence ward page and missed it entirely.

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Love it so far, though the sailing action sink in the beginning was way too much; it broke the immersion and added nothing. Once I reached the Lock, I was hooked though, the writing was beautiful and atmospheric. I am now in the final decision, and I have to ask: did anyone reach progress 10 in everyone, so they would leave alone? It looks like something that would take a week.

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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Roddok%20Hrismar?fromEchoId=13293568

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So I see in our inventory a Sibylline coin from one of the stories (and hell yeah for the choice of historical reference), but did we get one for the other, was it a quality, or did I miss something and am bugged?

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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Den%20Blackwell?fromEchoId=13295011

It’s been a wild ride visiting the Lamentation Lock, to see a den of criminals somewhere besides London and New Newgate. The ringleaders of each ward were definitely something to behold given that each seem to voluntarily turn themselves in despite the success they have in their various trades. I originally thought that the task would be a competition for the coin, but it is just…given to you. I would have appreciated a Persuasive ward and a little bit more insight into the Warden, but it is still an interesting ride.

On the same subject, I am also curious about the other endings, in which you actually decide to befriend these individuals instead of defeating them, since it seems to be the more moral option (I couldn’t myself from challenging them to various match-ups).

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We got a locket last month.

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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Roddok%20Hrismar?fromEchoId=13293568[/quote]

Thank you so much! Do you get anything interesting for it?

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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Roddok%20Hrismar?fromEchoId=13293568[/quote]
Thank you so much! Do you get anything interesting for it?[/quote]

I don’t believe so. At least nothing so interesting that it would make me remember it. Definitely no unique or expensive items. The Pugilist quality just gets updated to 10. Although the combat description is very nice.