Rosegate

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"Cigars, ashtrays, guillotines, matches and carved boxes are all for sale. Each step here transports you into a new realm: at one moment, the heady aroma of summer flowers; then, the earthy fug of fungus; the bitter warmth of morning coffee; the sickening sweetness of sweat and midnight honey."[1]

Rosegate is a tobacco shop under the Zee.

Smoke in the Air

"Factory, Emporium, and Home of the Underwater Cigar."[2]

A pack of cigarettes.
'Rosegate Blend' Roll-ups

Rosegate is a shop and factory for all manner of cigars and related products.[3][4] The cigars on offer here come with a wide variety of scents and flavors, including summer flowers, morning coffee, and fungal blooms.[5][6] Rosegate's owner is the Crotchety Tobacconist, a Surface-born Londoner[7][8] with a burning passion for cigars.[9] He outright refuses to prepare "ordinary" cigars; indeed, one of his signature creations burns so hot it may double as fuel for ships.[10] He is also very self-aggrandizing,[11] and a sore loser at cards.[12] The Tobacconist left London to found Rosegate under the Zee because he felt he had mastered his craft, and wanted to push the boundaries of his art beyond what polite society would consider possible or tolerable.[13][14]

The Tobacconist is assisted by the Dogged Apprentice, a former artist[15] with revolutionary ideals who wishes to subvert the laws of nature.[16][17] He is overworked and treated as disposable by his boss,[18][19] and he is the less callous of the two.[20]

The Underwater Cigar

"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.

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"We're on the verge of a tremendous breakthrough. I'm about to create something beautiful. Something noble. A cigar which will burn underwater. I think I've finally found the right mixture. Three flavours. Something robust; something bitter; and something luscious. Once I have them, I can finally complete it."[21]

"But each of my failures is just that: a failure. But mark my words: this one will work. And one day, I'll refine it to such a point that it makes the whole d__ned zee catch fire."[22]

A fire.
Aflame.

The Tobacconist's ultimate ambition is to develop a cigar that burns underwater.[23] To say he is obsessed with his magnum opus would be the understatement of the century,[24] and he claims to have little else to look forward to should the task prove impossible.[25] Bourdain of the Seven Against Nidah had an interest in the Tobacconist's project and sponsored him,[26] and he is also responsible for rescuing the Dogged Apprentice from a revolutionary plot gone wrong.[27] Unfortunately, Bourdain is currently preoccupied with his plans to overthrow the Presbyterate, and the Tobacconist lacks rubies to contact him for support.[28] It seems the Tobacconist wants to one day mass-produce his underwater cigars to set the whole Unterzee afire;[29][30] the Fathomking fears this outcome and considers Rosegate an "irritation."[31]

To complete his underwater cigar, the Tobacconist needs four key components:[32]

  • A robust flavor to "sustain" the cigar.[33] The chippings and powder from a captured Unfinished Man will suffice for this flavor.[34]
  • A bitter flavor to "light the mind."[35] A gallbladder extracted from a resentful Rattus Faber makes the perfect source.[36]
  • A luscious flavor to "burn."[37] To obtain this flavor, the Tobacconist intends to introduce a blemmigan to poetry,[38] then kill it while it revises a poorly-written poem.[39]
  • A wrapper for the cigar. The only suitable material is, of course, freshly harvested human skin.[40]

References

  1. ↑ Port description, Sunless Sea
  2. ↑ Items description, Sunless Sea
  3. ↑ Take a pamphlet, Sunless Sea "The pamphlet describes Rosegate as a cigar shop, with a factory on the upper floor."
  4. ↑ Port description, Sunless Sea "Cigars, ashtrays, guillotines, matches and carved boxes are all for sale."
  5. ↑ Port description, Sunless Sea "Each step here transports you into a new realm: at one moment, the heady aroma of summer flowers; then, the earthy fug of fungus; the bitter warmth of morning coffee [...]"
  6. ↑ Take a pamphlet, Sunless Sea "Here, they produce and sell an unparalleled variety of cigars. (Also true.)"
  7. ↑ Stoking inspiration for the luscious flavour, Sunless Sea "[...] reading this makes me feel old. Before London fell - I never dreamed of such carnality."
  8. ↑ The History of Rosegate, Sunless Sea "When he first heard of the underwater cigar, he didn't scorn me as London had."
  9. ↑ The History of Rosegate, Sunless Sea "The advances we've made in the tobacconist's art are unrivalled."
  10. ↑ How to Roll a Cigar, Sunless Sea "We haven't rolled ordinary cigars. Rosegate is not in the business of producing ordinary cigars. These have been specially fermented. [...] "Potent enough to power your ship, if you ever find yourself in a pinch!""
  11. ↑ Take a pamphlet, Sunless Sea "The Tobacconist is described as a world-renowned figure, respected for his dedication to his craft and the brilliance of his vision. (Hmm.)"
  12. ↑ Challenge the Tobacconist to a game of cards, Sunless Sea "You'll win in two turns, [...] The Crotchety Tobacconist snorts, snatches the cards off the table, and flings them into the air. He storms up the stairs to his workshop."
  13. ↑ Why pursue what is clearly impossible?, Sunless Sea "[...] I made a mistake many years ago: I mastered my art. There were only two options left to me - I could accept that I was finished, or I could attempt the absurd and unimaginable."
  14. ↑ The History of Rosegate, Sunless Sea "Over twenty years ago he opened his shop on the zee-floor. Why there? "It was a necessity brought upon us not only by the demands of our Art, but by Society's refusal to appreciate what must be done in its pursuit." [...] "The advances we've made in the tobacconist's art are unrivalled. [...] my patron. When he first heard of the underwater cigar, he didn't scorn me as London had. He saw the possibility of impossibility."
  15. ↑ Story description, Sunless Sea ""I was an artist, once," [...] "I've been here four, maybe five years now. But I practice when I can.""
  16. ↑ Give an audience to a short story, Sunless Sea "The stories all centre on cafés and anarchists. [...] The whole collection of work, while stilted, is violently aligned to the anarchic cause, and remarkably detailed."
  17. ↑ Parting with the Dogged Apprentice, Sunless Sea "I wanted to defy the laws of nature. But not like that. And now the zee will burn."
  18. ↑ An hour's rest, Sunless Sea "The Dogged Apprentice does have a life beyond making cigars, if only for an hour a day."
  19. ↑ Suggest the Tobacconist use himself, Sunless Sea "The Crotchety Tobacconist stares [...] "If an old man like me goes under the knife," [...] "then he can't expect to get back up. And besides, only I know exactly what to harvest for this cigar. It must be the boy, [...] there's nothing to do for it.""
  20. ↑ Refuse to assist, Sunless Sea "He's not callous enough, my apprentice."
  21. ↑ Witness a reunion, Sunless Sea
  22. ↑ How many cigars has he made and tested?, Sunless Sea
  23. ↑ Witness a reunion, Sunless Sea "[...] we're on the verge of a tremendous breakthrough. I'm about to create something beautiful. Something noble. A cigar which will burn underwater."
  24. ↑ How many cigars has he made and tested?, Sunless Sea "We have tested sixteen thousand, eight hundred and six cigars. [...] each of my failures is just that: a failure." [...] "But mark my words: this one will work. And one day, I'll refine it to such a point that it makes the whole d__ned zee catch fire.""
  25. ↑ Story description, Sunless Sea ""I don't know what I'll do if this fails, [...] I just don't know...""
  26. ↑ The History of Rosegate, Sunless Sea "The advances we've made in the tobacconist's art are unrivalled. [...] the greatest credit must go to my patron. When he first heard of the underwater cigar, he didn't scorn me as London had. He saw the possibility of impossibility. He saw the beauty. And without his support, Rosegate would not rest in the zee; Rosegate wouldn't have been able to experiment with ten thousand flavours; Rosegate would not be the home of the underwater cigar..."
  27. ↑ Give an audience to a short story, Sunless Sea "One story revolves around a failed plot in London; another focuses on the desperate escape afterward, made possible by a mysterious patron."
  28. ↑ Witness a reunion, Sunless Sea "Our patron has forsaken us. He's only interested in his project to the south. He left my Apprentice to starve, and he hasn't arranged a delivery of the materials I require. I've run out of rubies to try to convince him otherwise."
  29. ↑ Parting with the Crotchety Tobacconist, Sunless Sea "This will be a fine place for us to produce more of those underwater beauties. By this time next year, should have the entire zee burning."
  30. ↑ How many cigars has he made and tested?, Sunless Sea "But mark my words: this one will work. And one day, I'll refine it to such a point that it makes the whole d__ned zee catch fire."
  31. ↑ A Case of Cigarettes (20 FATE), Fallen London ""Rosegate is a continued irritation to us, below," says the King-in-Coral. "We fear that one day they may contrive a way to set water ablaze.""
  32. ↑ Witness a reunion, Sunless Sea "Three flavours. Something robust; something bitter; and something luscious. Once I have them, I can finally complete it."
  33. ↑ Qualities description, Sunless Sea ""To sustain.""
  34. ↑ Story description, Sunless Sea "The Unfinished Clay Man struggles futilely against his bonds. [...] "We will require both powder and shavings," the Crotchety Tobacconist says. "He should provide everything we need for a truly robust flavour.""
  35. ↑ Qualities description, Sunless Sea ""To ignite the mind.""
  36. ↑ Sneer coldly at it, Sunless Sea "The Dogged Apprentice nods solemnly, [...] "We've got it now. That's as much bitterness and contempt as it can hold. I'll remove the gallbladder in a moment - the master will be so pleased to have his ingredient!""
  37. ↑ Qualities description, Sunless Sea ""To burn.""
  38. ↑ Helping prepare the luscious flavour, Sunless Sea ""I've got one of those mushrooms. What do you call them? A Blendyg- a Brunnig- oh, sod it. I've got one in a jar. But first, it'll need to care about poetry. Can you bring it around?""
  39. ↑ Carve it up, Sunless Sea ""Don't disturb it," the Tobacconist whispers. "Just take your knife, and..." [...] The Blemmigan does not notice you looming over it as it corrects your metre. It does not notice you raising the knife as it considers helpful edits to your rhyme. And when you drive the blade straight through its cap, it just shudders and dies. A viscous purple mixes with the red ink."
  40. ↑ Help him get to work, Sunless Sea "The Crotchety Tobacconist swiftly draws his scalpel across the Apprentice's flesh. [...] the screams become distracting, the Tobacconist blows heavy smoke into his face - the Apprentice's eyes flutter shut. The Tobacconist grins and peels clean the skin he requires. And as he tends to the wrapping of the cigar [...]"
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