Curious things find their way through the mail. The Department of Menace Eradication has been receiving packages at an unprecedented rate.

I enjoyed the story very much, myself. But there is one thing that puzzled and frustrated me:

*snip*
Speculations

The only Echo I can find that refers to "Thou Shalt Harm No Thing That Flies." before the Dour Eradicator mentions it when you free her is in this Echo: http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Kharagal%20Mierqid?fromEchoId=14002618 . Given what some of the Echos of the "Bad Ending" reveal it seems like these rocks might be the teeth of the Ten-Thousand Teeth monster and the gouges/words carved on it are part of the orders mention in "They recite every order carved into its ten-thousand teeth". The Dour Eradicator is most likely referring to bats (specifically the Wings-of-Thunder Bat) and if those carvings on rocks are anything to go by, it seems that the reason people aren't supposed to hunt bats is because whoever the Servants of the Ten-Thousand Teeth monster (His Seventh Butler?) are "supposed to" hunt them. It kinda makes me wonder how big a bat we're talking about here too (and how high up the Chain this goes). 'Cause if the Masters are "bat-like" enough to count, would the Ten-Thousand Teeth monster want to eat/hunt them?
edited by 0bsidian Fire on 4/27/2018

"He entertains your other guests with stories of the Presbyterate. Adam's Way, the river that only living ships may sail. The College of Mortality, which elects and dismisses the Presbyter in a manner which on the Surface would be very final."

The Curious Watcher wrote:

After going deeper in the darkness myself, there seems to be a few revelations that are revealed if you're willing to give up your batling and a level from all of your stats:

-snip!-

edited by The Curious Watcher on 4/26/2018
edited by The Curious Watcher on 4/26/2018

I doubt the player is a Snuffer, as Snuffers can't come back from a trip on the river, and yet the player can.
edited by Joshopoke on 4/29/2018
edited by Joshopoke on 4/29/2018

To be fair, we don't actually know the mechanics of the Prester's immortality. For all we know, Stone's aura prevents them from dying but they could still grow old and, eventually, decrepit in a slower version of the same process that Tomb-Colonists face. Given something like that, there could certainly be some sort of process to undo the weight of years. We do know from Nidah that the immortal Presters are incredibly hard to kill, so causing partial death for a ritual is certainly plausible.

I do quite like the idea of killing the Prester to guarantee their immortality. Occam's Razor does apply though, as the facts we have do already provide a coherent explanation. However, stories are a central focus of Fallen London. As such I propose a new term, Bazaar's Razor: the correct explanation is the one that makes for a better narrative.

PSGarak wrote:

Catherine Raymond wrote:

I enjoyed the story very much, myself. But there is one thing that puzzled and frustrated me:

-snip-

Thanks. Now I'm trying to figure out how I could have figured that out. Could you please PM me with the answer? (Forgive me for being dense.)

And there isn't a companion to be kept, correct?

My goodness this one swerves into some unexpected places - the ramifications of this one could be huge. I'm gonna need to go and grab my tinfoil hat.
Big fan of this one, for the rewards, the absolutely wild story and that terrifying artwork. Nice way to round out the season!
edited by Barse on 4/26/2018

Hello folks! I reached the place of decide to go to light or to darkness. I know there are echoes of dark way, but do not want to spoil my possible choice. Yet I want to ask people who chose to darkness: was it worth it? I totally praise lore and story text more than material rewards, but it should be really good to sacrifice a batling and probably something more. Is it?

Bazaar’s razor *facepalm*. Love it. Well, I don’t know why I think I remember that some of the College of Mortality stuff seems to suggest (I wasn’t taking notes or anything) that some of the Prester’s individual lives were more than one person. That the position wasn’t allowed to publicly be assassinated or die in some cases. Vacating it in some cases would water down the myth of the Prester’s power, I guess? I think it was the Sunless Sea thing where you assassinate an immortal by way of explosives. Presumably there wasn’t enough body left.

In addition to the whole “being pushed back into your body” when you die near the mountain. I always assumed (with little to no evidence) that the Prester’s power was tied to their depth of knowledge of the mountain (presumably passed through the ages), weird rituals in the wound, infusing him with light and life not unlike the way the Nadir was used to infuse Millicent with... is that too spoilery? (I wonder if the first was involved at the beginning, knows the diadochi (at least Nicator)

Stepping backwards a bit, to the theory that the Department of Menace Eradication possibly
[spoiler]
having a connection to the Presbyterate, some discussion regarding the Department of Menace Eradication eating the Drowney you bring in in the Rat Catcher prompted someone to make this comment, which mentioned that the only other instance of cannibalism done so openly is at the Funeral Feast at Adam's Way. A bit tenuous, but interesting given that we were already discussing a possible connection, it may be worth noting.
[/spoiler]

Tough choices, but if I had to choose one, I know what I am going to pick.

• Lost in Reflections
• Cut with Moonlight
• Hojotoho!
• The Frequently Deceased
• The Waltz that Moved the World
• Steeped in Honey
• Flint
• All Things Must End
• The Century Exhibition
• The Twelve-Fifteen From Moloch Street
• The Persona Engine
• Where You and I Must Go
• The Sinking Synod
• The Attendants

• The Murgatroyd Formula
• Lamentation Lock
• The Web of the Motherlings
• The Pentecost Predicament
• The Calendar Code
• The Rat-Catcher
• The Art of Murder
• The Chimney Pot Wars
• The Final Curtain
• The Heart, the Devil and the Zee
• Our Lady of Pyres
• The Clay Man's Arm
• Five Minutes to Midday
• Discernment
• The Haunting at the Marsh House
• The Pursuit of Moths
• Factory of Favours

• Trial and Error
• The Last Dog Society
• The Seven-Day Reign
• The Court of Cats

• The Stone Guest

spoilery snip that eviscerates my tin-foil hatting

I really enjoyed this.
*snip*