"He stoops like a clerk and coughs like a miner. But that frock-coat is of the finest fabric and the newest cut. “My name is Penstock,” he says."[1]
Penstock manages Penstock’s Land Agency, a modest office situated on the eastern flank of the Bazaar.[2] Officially, he inspects, purchases, and sells property.[3] But beneath the Agency lies the Sundered Sea: the vast reservoir that serves as the Bazaar’s lacre-vats.[4] Access to this hidden expanse is granted only through Penstock’s Wicket, an entrance guarded by Penstock himself, leading to the depths below via a ramshackle elevator.[5]
Penstock wields absolute control over access to the lacre-vats; even other servants of the Bazaar must seek his permission.[6][7] In this capacity, he was responsible for facilitating Lilac Clathermont's past affairs.[8] Every Christmas, he permits an array of Londoners to descend into the Sea, giving them a rare opportunity to commune with the Bazaar.[9]
While deeply loyal, Penstock also sincerely loves the Bazaar;[10] he is intensely concerned for its mental and physical well-being[11] and objects to its use of sphinxstone, which exacerbates its melancholy.[12][13] His appearance reflects his burdens: tired eyes, a sallow complexion, hunched posture, a persistent cough.[14] Thanks to his proximity to the Sea, he also smells of ammonia and despair.[15] Despite his devotion, Penstock considers caring for someone to be the most terrible burden of all.[16]
Before entering the Bazaar’s service, Penstock was a zailor with no care for his own well-being, a past he does not speak of often.[17] He also implies that he once participated in the Marvellous.[18]
↑Go with her, Fallen London"Penstock's Land Agency: a modest office in an immodest location, hard against the eastern flank of the Bazaar - that spired fortress of commerce that towers over London. Penstock stoops like a clerk and coughs like a miner, but his eyes are very wise."
↑Sell your Mansion, Sunless SeaPenstock, the land agent, looks over the Mansion with a gloomy eye. “Roof's going,” he suggests. “But it's a good size, I suppose.”
↑A Sundered Sea, Fallen London"Sigils beat in the ceiling of these caverns [...] the lacre spuming below takes the red light and returns it, somehow, as purest white. Distance is difficult to judge, but this space would handily absorb a cathedral or two. It's a second sea, but a divided one. The lacre foams in cells and pits [...]"
↑Pass the Wicket and descend, Fallen London"'Downstairs' is a redly lit grotto hollowed from the carapace of the Bazaar. A heavily chained cage-lift awaits you at the back. Penstock unlocks it: his hands are trembling."
↑Mr Sacks! Take this pail of... snow? 2, Fallen London"The lacre is of the quality I might have expected. Yes, indeed. Not generous, but sufficient. […] I shall commend you to Penstock, should that time come." It snares it […]. What's this it's left behind? Since when does Mr Sacks leave gifts?
↑Go with her, Fallen London"There is another sea beneath the Bazaar," Penstock declares. "A paler sea. Yes, I would imagine you might make the bargain your mother made. Yes, I helped her go down there. But she took a terrible chance even then... and the Bazaar is not well. Not now. Are you certain?" (Said in conversation with Maybe's Daughter.)
↑Talk about the Courier 2, Fallen London"Is that so strange? Perhaps. But I'm not the only one. Penstock, too. There are others... some of us came to it naturally, some with assistance. But the passion in those spires!" […] a curl of hair falls across her cheek. "It cannot be denied forever."
↑Confer with Penstock, Fallen London"Penstock is the Bazaar's faithful servant, always concerned for the Bazaar's welfare and its state of mind. He has views on the debt."
↑Did you detect the intrusion of a nautical 'z' into his greeting?, Fallen LondonHe jumps, as if you'd performed some impossible act of witchcraft. "How did you—? Yes. […] I was moved to intercede against this Station IV villainy." Anger blushes […] "They're feeding old memories into the lacre-vats. Go below, and smell for yourself."
↑Penstock's Plea, Sunless Sea“The Bazaar has been feasting on old memories from the Salt Lions. It only makes her more melancholy, and that's worse for all of us... but especially those who love her. So we've found another use for the Sphinxstone. We can set something right.”
↑A dusty gentleman, Sunless Sea"Tired eyes, sallow skin. He stoops like a clerk and coughs like a miner. But that frock-coat is of the finest fabric and the newest cut. “My name is Penstock,” he says."
↑Reject his plea, Sunless Sea"He smells of ammonia and sadness. You should go somewhere that does not smell of those things."
↑Penstock, Fallen London"There's no worse burden than caring for someone. Can't say I recommend it."
↑Penstock, Fallen London"'Nerves still frayed. I miss the zee.' He swirls the liquid in his cup pensively. 'I was a reckless zailor. Didn't care overmuch if I lived or died. Nothing to care for, not even myself.'"
