Penstock

From The Fifth City Wiki

"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 Millicent 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] He doesn't seem to have a problem with the Bazaar's consumption of the corpses[14] in the Soothe & Cooper Long-Boxes though.[15] His appearance reflects his burdens: tired eyes, a sallow complexion, hunched posture, a persistent cough.[16] Thanks to his proximity to the Sea, he also smells of ammonia and despair.[17] Despite his devotion, Penstock considers caring for someone to be the most terrible burden of all.[18]

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.[19] He also implies that he once participated in the Marvellous.[20]

The Vicomte[edit | edit source]

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"I guess you know now that some contracts have fangs. And I might've incorporated a particularly hungry legal clause into this deed. The Vicomte de V_____? He's how an observer might, let's say, interpret such a clause. How the terms can manifest for a receptive mind. When you see him at your château, that's due to the copy you signed. But I've put the same clause into other contracts. Whatever he told you about our relationship, though, I'm not his servant."[21]

The Vicomte

Beyond his usual duties, Penstock bears another, more peculiar responsibility.

The Vicomte de V_____ (its human pseudonym) is something of a parasite upon the Bazaar's body,[22] a sigil that both devours and inspires passion. After the Bazaar discovered its unwelcome passenger, it found that the parasite could help cultivate love stories.[23] To that end, the Bazaar tasked Penstock with embedding copies of the sigil into property deeds, ensuring the Vicomte’s continued influence.[24] However, the creature requires a link to the Bazaar in order to manifest, so Penstock has another, far less dignified duty: collecting the Bazaar’s "nightsoil" (excrement), packing it into empty Soothe & Cooper Long-Boxes, and personally delivering it to the Vicomte’s residences.[25]

Penstock resents the Vicomte’s intimate bond with the Bazaar.[26] The parasite is, after all, quite literally attached to the messenger. Worse still, age has made the labor of hauling boxes of refuse increasingly unbearable. He longs to be rid of the Vicomte, yet he cannot act against it directly; tampering with the original sigil could harm the Bazaar itself.[27]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ A dusty gentleman, Sunless Sea
  2. ↑ 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."
  3. ↑ Sell your Mansion, Sunless Sea Penstock, the land agent, looks over the Mansion with a gloomy eye. “Roof's going,” he suggests. “But it's a good size, I suppose.”
  4. ↑ 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 [...]"
  5. ↑ 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."
  6. ↑ Practical Numismatics, Fallen London "[...] the Efficient Commissioner […] has filled kegs of lacre, with Penstock's permission. [...]"
  7. ↑ 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?
  8. ↑ 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.)
  9. ↑ Penstock's Wicket, Fallen London "She's been expecting you," […] "Would you like to come downztairs?"
  10. ↑ 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."
  11. ↑ 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."
  12. ↑ Did you detect the intrusion of a nautical 'z' into his greeting?, Fallen London He 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."
  13. ↑ 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.”
  14. ↑ Pilfer a large, mysterious box, Fallen London "Someone has nailed the coffins comprehensively shut. The stencilling reads 'SOOTHE & COOPER'. A franked, handwritten label adds 'DELIVERY TO DEPOT (A), STATION III'. One of the coffins is open and empty. The adjacent lacre pool seethes like a glass of liver-salts."
  15. ↑ Caveat Emptor, Fallen London "It's hard work, moving nightsoil. But I've got long-boxes. Soothe & Cooper. Plenty down in storage after... well, that's another story. I pack 'em full and then cart 'em out."
  16. ↑ 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."
  17. ↑ Reject his plea, Sunless Sea "He smells of ammonia and sadness. You should go somewhere that does not smell of those things."
  18. ↑ Penstock, Fallen London "There's no worse burden than caring for someone. Can't say I recommend it."
  19. ↑ 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.'"
  20. ↑ Key to your Rooms above a Gambling Den, Fallen London Penstock smiles sadly. "Almost I long for the days of the Marvellous. But the Masters are not merciful."
  21. ↑ Caveat Emptor, Fallen London
  22. ↑ Caveat Emptor, Fallen London "He's a real foreigner – if you follow. The Bazaar came from very far away. She brought a few things with her. Not on purpose. Like how a dog might pick up ticks out in the wilderness. The Vicomte de V_____, well, he's just like a tick. Like a tick that finally dropped off and purchased an aristocratic title."
  23. ↑ Caveat Emptor, Fallen London "One sigil differs from the rest. It oozes thick crimson fluid. "A parasitic law," says Penstock. "It doesn't just eat passion. It inspires passion. All those properties, with this legal clause worked into their contracts? Inspire passion too. Even if they nip a little. That's why she wants to spread it. London needs inspiration. You won't hold it against me, will you?" He lets out a sigh. "It wouldn't be the first time I've done something foolish for love.""
  24. ↑ Caveat Emptor, Fallen London "I guess you know now that some contracts have fangs. And I might've incorporated a particularly hungry legal clause into this deed. The Vicomte de V_____? He's how an observer might, let's say, interpret such a clause. How the terms can manifest for a receptive mind. When you see him at your château, that's due to the copy you signed. But I've put the same clause into other contracts. Whatever he told you about our relationship, though, I'm not his servant."
  25. ↑ Caveat Emptor, Fallen London "He needs to maintain a connection. That's what the samples are for. Nightsoil of the Bazaar. As his property agent, it's my job to move nightsoil onto his estates. Without it, the Vicomte couldn't stay at his own addresses."
  26. ↑ Caveat Emptor, Fallen London "A connection. Right," says Penstock. Is that jealousy you detect? Whatever it is, Penstock smiles sadly, and the impression is gone.
  27. ↑ Caveat Emptor, Fallen London "I couldn't have done that myself," he says, wiping his forehead with a handkerchief. "Even now, I'm not sure how well she'll take it. But something had to happen. I'm getting too old to drag long-boxes around. If the estates weren't prepared, you see, the deeds with the sigil wouldn't stick. You can keep this one. I won't be transporting much nightsoil again."
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