The Missing Candle is a reliably quiet pub in Veilgarden – the drinks are cheap, the food is… extant. These days it is best known as the meeting place of a very exclusive club – one that happens to include you.
The Candlefinder Society – the five greatest detectives in London – regularly meet to talk shop. Sometimes, you join forces to unravel the city’s most unusual mysteries. Today we’re releasing two new cases to solve: the Case of the Sealed Vault, and the Case of the Glasshouse War.
In the Case of the Sealed Vault, join the Honey-Addled Detective in a locked-room mystery. The Sojourning Envoy, visiting from the Surface, has been attacked in the safe rooms beneath Baseborn & Fowlingpiece – while the doors were sealed.
In the Case of the Glasshouse War, help the Urchin Detective prevent an all-out conflict between the Regiment and the Fisher-Kings. Somebody has shattered the Fisher-Kings’ glasshouse, and there is only one urchin gang in possession of a cannon…
The Case of the Sealed Vault is available for free, while the Case of the Glasshouse War costs 10 Fate.
Getting Started
Candlefinder mysteries are episodic stories set in London, available from the midgame onwards. To unlock them:
Complete ‘A Name in Seven Secret Alphabets’ (raise that quality to 7)
Complete ‘A Name Whispered in Darkness’ (raise that quality to 7)
Raise your unmodified Watchful to 90 or more
If you meet those conditions, you can gain access to the Candlefinder Society by drawing a guaranteed card in London. Once started, cases must be finished before you can start another one or replay a past case. Cases can be replayed; Fate cases don’t cost anything to replay. But the reward for completing a given case for the first time is more substantial.
I just finished the Glasshouse War case. Pretty nice one. A little short on detection (and still my character managed to miss a key clue. For shame), but urchins do not lend themselves to complex schemes.
As in previous cases, nice use of carrousels (horticulture and “On the hunt” in this case). The Fisher-Kings and the Regiment get some good characterisation -I did not know, or did not remember that every urchin on the Fisher-Kings has some sort of serious scar or bodyparts missing-. And the Detective Urchin proves to be very resourceful even if her focus leaves something to be desired.
I liked that, apparently, a large, lightning-and-thunder-producing plant moving and hiding somewhere in London went largely unnoticed. Definitely a NFFL (Normal For Fallen London) moment. Not as funny as nobody caring to mention the constantly screaming skull upon our person as we went searching for leads all around town in “Memories of Mozart”, but quite close.
The Sealed Vault felt a bit on the small side for one of these stories. Honestly the Locked Room premise didn’t really sell it for me, since there’s like a dozen different ways to get around “no one was in the room with me” including at least two different ways of re-defining the concept of “no one was in the room.” The writing and some of the spywork details elevated it above the premise, but not my favorite.
The Glasshouse War, on the other hand, that one’s my favorite. Quite possibly the best Urchin story I’ve played. Does a very good job of “children being serious but still being children,” I love seeing Molly, and the Urchin Detective gets to take a prominent and active role in the story.
My only complaint, which I have already sent to Failbetter, is that we don’t get to keep it. I hope we see it again, somehow.
And having now played through the Sealed Vault, I like that it is pretty much the polar opposite of the other case. A more distinguished client, but lower stakes. Not a particularly fun romp, but nicely slow (despite the case being shorter) and methodical problem solving; the science of deduction and all that. I thought it was going to make use of the Wilmot’s End carrousel, to continue the trend of employing early-to-mid-game mechanics, but it’s probably better that it didn’t, as Wilmot’s End was always a bit of a drag.
HI all
I meet the Name… conditions and have Watchful at 200 unmodified but I have never seen the ‘guaranteed’ card. I have been playing FL every one of the last 5 days but I’ve never seen it. And I play through m
y opportunity cards completely every time I’m logged in. Any help would be appreciated.
Card. Check qualities, maybe you do not meet requirements yet. Or you already played it and forgot (happens), or got the quality from ES. Check Veilgarden for Meeting with the Candlefinder Society storylet.
