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{{Neath_Location
{{Neath_Location
|image1 = Lowbarnetgaz.png
|image1 = Lowbarnetgaz.png
|caption1 = They are eager for new tales. Art from Sunless Sea.
|caption1 = Low Barnet
|location = [[The Unterzee|Southern Archipelago]]
|location = [[The Unterzee|Home Waters]]
|allegiance = Storytellers<br>
|allegiance = [[The New Sequence]]
[[The Dawn Machine|The New Sequence]]
|music = [https://failbettergames.bandcamp.com/track/undulata Undulata]}}<blockquote>''"A sunken church with docking ports. Sediment has built up against the lower walls, and long ago choked neglected crypts and crooked tombstones. The interior is sealed; yet the deep peals of the tower's bell can be felt even through a zubmarine hull."''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Low_Barnet|Port Description|Sunless Sea|}}</ref></blockquote>
|notable_inhabitants =
 
|music = [https://failbettergames.bandcamp.com/track/undulata Undulata]}}<blockquote>''"A sunken church with docking ports. Sediment has built up against the lower walls, and long ago choked neglected crypts and crooked tombstones. The interior is sealed; yet the deep peals of the tower's bell can be felt even through a zubmarine hull."''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Low_Barnet|Low Barnet|Sunless Sea|}}</ref></blockquote>'''Low Barnet '''is a sunken church with no altar, no priests, and no god.
'''Low Barnet '''is a sunken church in the [[Unterzee]] near [[London]].__forcetoc__
__forcetoc__


==The Storyteller's Haven==
==The Storyteller's Haven==
<blockquote>''"The competition? The best story wins. Cap'n says it's all in the delivery, but you need a fine yarn to spin, too."''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/A_Contest_of_Stories|Ask about the competition|Sunless Sea|}}</ref></blockquote>Located not far from [[London]], Low Barnet is a church whose organ is wrecked and whose pulpit is nowhere to be found.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/Low_Barnet|Explore the church|Sunless Sea|}} ''"There is no pulpit. The organ has bent, broken pipes. But Low Barnet is still a house of worship, of a sort. Groups of zailors gather in the aisles. The choir benches are clean, and face a makeshift stage. Lantern-eyed fish pass behind colourful windows of stained glass.  The door to the bell tower is guarded by two burly vergers. The tridents are a nice touch. "''</ref> Rather, this place is a house of stories; the congregation is one of storytellers, and the church is one of tales and great feats. Zee-captains often come here to recite accounts of their adventures zailing the [[Unterzee]].<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/Trade_Stories_with_the_Congregation|Trade Stories with the Congregation|Sunless Sea|}} ''"At Low Barnet, everyday animosities are set aside in the pursuit of a fine tale. Khaganian traders mingle with Royal Navy deserters, rum-addled pirates and Rubbery Men. There is an air of anticipation, and a tolerance for embellishment."''</ref> Some may tell tales so revolting the locals flee the room,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/Trade_Stories_with_the_Congregation|Speak of Undercrow|Sunless Sea|}} ''"You talk of the gut-moths which inhabit every zailor, and provide their nautical instincts. That taste in the throat which heralds a storm front; the ability to digest food even on choppy seas; the welcome fluttering in the stomach at the sight of a sweetheart on shore. Moths, in the gut, growing all the time. Your listeners shift in their seats. One hurries out, clutching his mouth."''</ref> while others may tell stories so enthralling the locals imagine themselves in the midst of them.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/Trade_Stories_with_the_Congregation|Speak of Rosegate|Sunless Sea|}} ''"You describe the gleaming cabinets of cigars; the impressions of far-flung places conjured by each puff. The uplifting bite of freshly cut grass under Surface sun; the dark whiff of lightless cellars stacked with mushroom wine; the sweating, savage scents of London's fleshpots. Your audience inhales in unison, savouring imaginary smoke."''</ref>  
<blockquote>''"The competition? The best story wins. Cap'n says it's all in the delivery, but you need a fine yarn to spin, too."''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/A_Contest_of_Stories|Ask about the competition|Sunless Sea|}}</ref></blockquote>


Storytelling contests are held regularly to see who has the most fascinating tales beneath the Zee.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/Another_Contest_of_Stories|Another Contest of Stories|Sunless Sea|}} ''"The pews are full, but there's room for another contestant. Could you win the audience with tales of your adventures?"''</ref> The winner is allowed entry to the '''Bell Tower''',<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/Low_Barnet:_Story_Contests|Low Barnet: Story Contests|Sunless Sea|}} ''"You won a story-trading contest, and may enter the bell tower"''</ref> which lies behind a well-guarded door. Within lies a single '''Bell'''; its peals can be heard from a great distance away.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/Low_Barnet|Low Barnet|Sunless Sea|}} ''"The interior is sealed; yet the deep peals of the tower's bell can be felt even through a zubmarine hull."''</ref> Curiously, those who ring the Bell never return.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/Low_Barnet#A_Contest_of_Stories|Go about your business|Sunless Sea|}} ''"An excited murmur runs through the congregation. Although you keep an eye on the bell tower door, the winner does not emerge."''</ref>
Low Barnet is a church like any other, except its organ is broken and it lacks a pulpit.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/Low_Barnet#Interactions|Explore the church|Sunless Sea|}} ''"There is no pulpit. The organ has bent, broken pipes. But Low Barnet is still a house of worship, of a sort. Groups of zailors gather in the aisles. The choir benches are clean, and face a makeshift stage. Lantern-eyed fish pass behind colourful windows of stained glass."''</ref> Zailors from all over the [[Unterzee]] join the congregation here to share accounts of their adventures, regardless of their politics or other animosities.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/Trade_Stories_with_the_Congregation#Story_description|Story description|Sunless Sea|}} ''"At Low Barnet, everyday animosities are set aside in the pursuit of a fine tale. Khaganian traders mingle with Royal Navy deserters, rum-addled pirates and Rubbery Men. There is an air of anticipation, and a tolerance for embellishment."''</ref> The church hosts competitions to determine who can recite the best story; embellishments and lies face little scrutiny here.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/Low_Barnet#A_Contest_of_Stories|A Contest of Stories|Sunless Sea|}} ''"A competition is in progress. A Voluble Visitor tells of the Sideways Regiment: a plunderous legion of trained crabs. [...] The unlikely story wins the acclaim of the congregation."''</ref> Winners are awarded the chance to enter Low Barnet's bell tower:<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/Low_Barnet#A_Contest_of_Stories|Follow her into the bell tower|Sunless Sea|}} ''"Two surly vergers block your approach to the door. One points back at the congregation. "Only winners allowed," he grunts. "Next one's soon.""''</ref> the bell's peals are so loud they are audible even to those in zubmarines,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/Low_Barnet#Port_Description|Port Description|Sunless Sea|}} ''"The interior is sealed; yet the deep peals of the tower's bell can be felt even through a zubmarine hull."''</ref> and those who ring the bell do not return.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/Low_Barnet#A_Contest_of_Stories|Go about your business|Sunless Sea|}} ''"[...] you hear the sonorous BONG of the bell within. Its peals repeat every few seconds, before becoming abruptly muffled, then finally silent. An excited murmur runs through the congregation. Although you keep an eye on the bell tower door, the winner does not emerge."''</ref>


[[Lytton]] of the [[Seven Against Nidah]] has taken refuge in a corner of the church, and his body has become encased in coral.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/A_Verger_in_Coral|A Verger in Coral|Sunless Sea|}} ''"Lytton stands in a secluded corner. He is inhumanly tall - his lower body is encased in a block of coral that raises him up. Beneath his shirt, his body is lumpen. A tracery of it - lurid and pink - has begun to sprout on his cheek, following the course of his veins."''</ref>
[[Lytton]] of the [[Seven Against Nidah]] has taken refuge here in a corner of the church, and his body is encased in solid coral.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/A_Verger_in_Coral|A Verger in Coral|Sunless Sea|}} ''"Lytton stands in a secluded corner. He is inhumanly tall - his lower body is encased in a block of coral that raises him up. Beneath his shirt, his body is lumpen. A tracery of it - lurid and pink - has begun to sprout on his cheek, following the course of his veins."''</ref>


==The Bell==
==The Bell==
{{major spoiler small}}<blockquote>''"Soon you are within reach of the bell. The metal shape is colossal in the confined space, its exterior still shiny despite, presumably, years beneath the zee. You lean over to look inside. The clapper is covered in a dark residue. And the interior seems soft, blackened, wrinkled. Covered in pieces of-''</blockquote><blockquote>''"Suddenly, you know what happens to those who ring the bell."''<ref name="ring">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Bell_Tower|Ring the bell|Sunless Sea|}}''"You are light, all of you. The sun that turns; the touch that burns. The voice of fires and falling spires. The wheel within the wheel within the wheel, contemplating, constructing, consuming. Each click of the cog, the circles colliding and guiding-"''</ref></blockquote>The Bell is actually a living creature that devours both the bodies and the souls of those who ring it. This strange amalgam of beast and building was erected by the [[The New Sequence|New Sequence]], back when they were still a splinter faction of London's [[Admiralty]].<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/The_Bell_Tower|Ask about the bell|Sunless Sea|}} ''"One of the vergers glances up into the tower's heights. The other studies the prongs of his trident. “Bell was here before we were. But it's not from the surface. Royal Navy brought it, they say. But not regulars. Deserters or something. Strange crew."''</ref> It can be assumed that the Bell's purpose is to gather souls for the [[Dawn Machine]],<ref name="ring" /> as its rope seems to avoid the hands of the soulless.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/The_Bell_Tower|Ring the bell (Soulless)|Sunless Sea|}} ''"You scramble up a few rungs of the ladder and stretch for the dangling rope. It swings away from your palm, slithering up into the bell's mouth."''</ref>
{{spoiler}}
<blockquote>''"You close your hands around the glistening rope and pull. BONG. The noise reverberates around the narrow confines of the tower. As the bell swings, the rope tugs at your grasp. You cannot let go! Your feet lift off the ground and the walls flash past as you are yanked inside the bell -"''</blockquote>
 
<blockquote>''"You are light, all of you. The sun that turns; the touch that burns. The voice of fires and falling spires. The wheel within the wheel within the wheel, contemplating, constructing, consuming. Each click of the cog, the circles colliding and guiding -"''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/The_Bell_Tower#Interactions|Ring the bell|Sunless Sea|}}</ref></blockquote>
[[File:Dawnmachine.png|alt=A glowing machine of wheels.|thumb|[[The Dawn Machine]]]]
The bell of Low Barnet is a mysterious object that was built by members of [[Admiralty]] loyal to the [[New Sequence]].<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/The_Bell_Tower#Interactions|Ask about the bell|Sunless Sea|}} ''"Bell was here before we were. But it's not from the surface. Royal Navy brought it, they say. But not regulars. Deserters or something. Strange crew."''</ref> It can be rung by pulling its rope, but those who do so will be yanked up into the bell's maw.<ref name = "smuggle">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/The_Bell_Tower#Interactions|Smuggle in the Wandering Parson|Sunless Sea|}} ''"You step back inside just in time to see him seize the bell rope with both hands and give an almighty pull. BONG! [...] the rope hauls him at breathtaking speed up the tower and inside the bell. There is a brief scream; a damp crunch. Coins shower you, along with a bracing drizzle of gore."''</ref> They will find themselves in a cacophony of spinning lights and gears,<ref name = "ring">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/The_Bell_Tower#Interactions|Ring the bell|Sunless Sea|}} ''"You close your hands around the glistening rope and pull. BONG. [...] As the bell swings, the rope tugs at your grasp. You cannot let go! Your feet lift off the ground and the walls flash past as you are yanked inside the bell-  You are light, all of you. The sun that turns; the touch that burns. The voice of fires and falling spires. The wheel within the wheel within the wheel, contemplating, constructing, consuming. Each click of the cog, the circles colliding and guiding-  You struggle free, and fall. [...] A verger [...] seems surprised to see you. [...] “Trespasser,” [...] Menaces: Soulless = 1"''</ref> and their bodies will be quickly ground up into gore.<ref name = "smuggle"/> It is possible to escape the bell's grasp, but those who do so return without their [[souls]],<ref name = "ring"/> and the bell's ropes draw away from the soulless.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/The_Bell_Tower#Interactions|Ring the bell|Sunless Sea|}} ''"The ropes have withdrawn, out of your reach. [...] You scramble up a few rungs of the ladder and stretch for the dangling rope. It swings away from your palm, slithering up into the bell's mouth."''</ref> It is likely that the bell's true purpose is to harvest souls for the [[Dawn Machine]].
 
==References==
==References==
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{{Scroll box|text=<references/>}}
[[Category:Places]]
[[Category:Places]]
[[Category:The Unterzee]]
[[Category:The Unterzee]]
[[Category:The Neath]]
[[Category:The Neath]]

Revision as of 00:08, 16 July 2024

"A sunken church with docking ports. Sediment has built up against the lower walls, and long ago choked neglected crypts and crooked tombstones. The interior is sealed; yet the deep peals of the tower's bell can be felt even through a zubmarine hull."[1]

Low Barnet is a sunken church in the Unterzee near London.

The Storyteller's Haven

"The competition? The best story wins. Cap'n says it's all in the delivery, but you need a fine yarn to spin, too."[2]

Low Barnet is a church like any other, except its organ is broken and it lacks a pulpit.[3] Zailors from all over the Unterzee join the congregation here to share accounts of their adventures, regardless of their politics or other animosities.[4] The church hosts competitions to determine who can recite the best story; embellishments and lies face little scrutiny here.[5] Winners are awarded the chance to enter Low Barnet's bell tower:[6] the bell's peals are so loud they are audible even to those in zubmarines,[7] and those who ring the bell do not return.[8]

Lytton of the Seven Against Nidah has taken refuge here in a corner of the church, and his body is encased in solid coral.[9]

The Bell

"There are some things we were not meant to know, they say. But you wouldn't be down here if you took that seriously."

Beyond this point lie spoilers for Fallen London, Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies, or Mask of the Rose. This may include midgame or minor Fate-locked content. Proceed with caution.

You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.


"You close your hands around the glistening rope and pull. BONG. The noise reverberates around the narrow confines of the tower. As the bell swings, the rope tugs at your grasp. You cannot let go! Your feet lift off the ground and the walls flash past as you are yanked inside the bell -"

"You are light, all of you. The sun that turns; the touch that burns. The voice of fires and falling spires. The wheel within the wheel within the wheel, contemplating, constructing, consuming. Each click of the cog, the circles colliding and guiding -"[10]

A glowing machine of wheels.
The Dawn Machine

The bell of Low Barnet is a mysterious object that was built by members of Admiralty loyal to the New Sequence.[11] It can be rung by pulling its rope, but those who do so will be yanked up into the bell's maw.[12] They will find themselves in a cacophony of spinning lights and gears,[13] and their bodies will be quickly ground up into gore.[12] It is possible to escape the bell's grasp, but those who do so return without their souls,[13] and the bell's ropes draw away from the soulless.[14] It is likely that the bell's true purpose is to harvest souls for the Dawn Machine.

References

  1. Port Description, Sunless Sea
  2. Ask about the competition, Sunless Sea
  3. Explore the church, Sunless Sea "There is no pulpit. The organ has bent, broken pipes. But Low Barnet is still a house of worship, of a sort. Groups of zailors gather in the aisles. The choir benches are clean, and face a makeshift stage. Lantern-eyed fish pass behind colourful windows of stained glass."
  4. Story description, Sunless Sea "At Low Barnet, everyday animosities are set aside in the pursuit of a fine tale. Khaganian traders mingle with Royal Navy deserters, rum-addled pirates and Rubbery Men. There is an air of anticipation, and a tolerance for embellishment."
  5. A Contest of Stories, Sunless Sea "A competition is in progress. A Voluble Visitor tells of the Sideways Regiment: a plunderous legion of trained crabs. [...] The unlikely story wins the acclaim of the congregation."
  6. Follow her into the bell tower, Sunless Sea "Two surly vergers block your approach to the door. One points back at the congregation. "Only winners allowed," he grunts. "Next one's soon.""
  7. Port Description, Sunless Sea "The interior is sealed; yet the deep peals of the tower's bell can be felt even through a zubmarine hull."
  8. Go about your business, Sunless Sea "[...] you hear the sonorous BONG of the bell within. Its peals repeat every few seconds, before becoming abruptly muffled, then finally silent. An excited murmur runs through the congregation. Although you keep an eye on the bell tower door, the winner does not emerge."
  9. A Verger in Coral, Sunless Sea "Lytton stands in a secluded corner. He is inhumanly tall - his lower body is encased in a block of coral that raises him up. Beneath his shirt, his body is lumpen. A tracery of it - lurid and pink - has begun to sprout on his cheek, following the course of his veins."
  10. Ring the bell, Sunless Sea
  11. Ask about the bell, Sunless Sea "Bell was here before we were. But it's not from the surface. Royal Navy brought it, they say. But not regulars. Deserters or something. Strange crew."
  12. 12.0 12.1 Smuggle in the Wandering Parson, Sunless Sea "You step back inside just in time to see him seize the bell rope with both hands and give an almighty pull. BONG! [...] the rope hauls him at breathtaking speed up the tower and inside the bell. There is a brief scream; a damp crunch. Coins shower you, along with a bracing drizzle of gore."
  13. 13.0 13.1 Ring the bell, Sunless Sea "You close your hands around the glistening rope and pull. BONG. [...] As the bell swings, the rope tugs at your grasp. You cannot let go! Your feet lift off the ground and the walls flash past as you are yanked inside the bell- You are light, all of you. The sun that turns; the touch that burns. The voice of fires and falling spires. The wheel within the wheel within the wheel, contemplating, constructing, consuming. Each click of the cog, the circles colliding and guiding- You struggle free, and fall. [...] A verger [...] seems surprised to see you. [...] “Trespasser,” [...] Menaces: Soulless = 1"
  14. Ring the bell, Sunless Sea "The ropes have withdrawn, out of your reach. [...] You scramble up a few rungs of the ladder and stretch for the dangling rope. It swings away from your palm, slithering up into the bell's mouth."