Venderbight

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Venderbight is not a pleasant place. But there is peace here, among the shuffling colonists and glistening stone. Sometimes, in a quiet room with a glass of imported Greyfields in your hand and your landlady playing the piano – surprisingly well – you could almost feel happy here.[2]

Verderbight is the best-known port of the Tomb-Colonies, and a frequent destination for travelling Tomb-Colonists and individuals hiding from their scandalous deeds in London.[3][4] The Grand Sanatorium, which houses the most decrepit and near-death of Tomb-Colonists, is located near the colony.[5][6]

The Living among the Dead[edit | edit source]

The Tomb-Colonists of Venderbight take a certain pride in their status as almost-dead. They refer to healthier individuals as "Softskins" or "Silkskins."[7][8] Indeed, to be granted permanent stay as a Tomb-Colonist, one must pass the Skin-Check and the Confirmation of Consolation.[9] Impostor Tomb-Colonists are treated harshly by the community.[10] Exiles from London, however, are a welcome diversion, as they bring gossip[11] and other amenities from the City - like hats and weasels.[12][13]

Public Perception[edit | edit source]

The Unexpurgated London Gazette once wrote a series of articles on the Tomb-Colony, calling it 'dark' and "miserable," and using terms like "doomed" and "reeking and bandaged." Doctor Carrywell, a senior staff member at the Grand Sanatorium, fought hard to have this disrespectful article redacted; apparently, she was successful.[14]

News of the Tomb-Colonies seldom reaches London's newspapers. They apparently consider it bad practice to report on someone after their obituary has already been published.[15]

Locations in and around Venderbight[edit | edit source]

Establishments of the Port Proper[edit | edit source]

  • The Vengeance of Jonah, a seafood-restaurant run by the Bandaged Poissonnier. It's comparatively comfortable and known for its extraordinary cuisine.[16]
  • The Hungarian Cafe: the food leaves a bit to be desired, but the music is good.[17]
  • The Lamplighters' Arcade, sellers of copper jewelry. Apparently a tradition from the time before London.[18]
  • The Last Tour Operator, who organizes pleasure cruises for the Tomb-Colonists.[19]
  • The Stalagmite Arcade. Little is known about this place, but it is the occasional haunt of well-connected chess players.[20]

The Outskirts of Venderbight[edit | edit source]

  • The Flowstone Forest, a confusing maze of stone that obfuscates the way to the Grand Sanatorium.[5]
  • The Grand Sanatorium, a place where the weakest of the Tomb-Colonists go to die - or so we assume.[6]
  • Unnamed ruins which date back to the Third City and are known to invoke visions of lush jungles and snakes.[21][22]

Trivia[edit | edit source]

  • Dustwine is considered a delicacy in Venderbight.[23]
  • Venderbight exports cave-herring.[24]
  • Venderbight also sells a very particular kind of soap and candles.[25][26]
  • Venderbight lent its name to a special pavane [27] - a slow, processional dance from the 1500s. Very befitting for the lamentable state of a Tomb-Colonist's body, as well as its age.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Visit an Old Friend, Fallen London
  2. ↑ Far from home, Fallen London
  3. ↑ Map, Sunless Sea "Venderbight is the only port in the Tomb-Colonies"
  4. ↑ Disgraced exile in the Tomb-Colonies, Fallen London
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ambition: Nemesis %E2%80%93 the Flowstone Forest, Fallen London "The Grand Sanatorium! Your information has it deep in the Flowstone Forest to the south of Venderbight, nestled like a fungus in a rotting log. Like a beehive in an old stone wall."
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 The construction of the 'Grand Sanatoria', Fallen London
  7. ↑ A vigilant colonist, Fallen London
  8. ↑ Explore Venderbight, Sunless Sea "The other colonists spot you, and close ranks around him. “Stay back, silkskin,” one hisses."
  9. ↑ Help out an immigrant, Sunless Sea
  10. ↑ Make no promise of discretion, Sunless Sea "Her possesions are forfeited [...] She yells as the tomb-colonists drag her away."
  11. ↑ Visit an old friend, Fallen London
  12. ↑ An improbable fashion, Fallen London
  13. ↑ A limping fellow, Fallen London
  14. ↑ Ambition: Nemesis 10: to the tomb-colonies?, Fallen London "A sub-editor at the Unexpurgated London Gazette knows her only too well. She writes enraged letters to the Gazette, complaining about a series of articles they published on her home colony of Venderbight. She rejects the 'dark': they have gas-light! She rejects the 'miserable': they have piano-recitals! She rejects the 'doomed': they are optimists! The 'reeking and bandaged' drove her into an ungovernable rage that left the remainder of her last letter unreadable."
  15. ↑ The society pages?, Fallen London
  16. ↑ The Vengeance of Jonah, Sunless Sea "It's a cramped little place, but much better-lit than most places in the tomb-colonies. The scents of the dishes are multitudinous and extraordinary."
  17. ↑ Explore Venderbight, Sunless Sea "You pause for refreshment at the Hungarian Café. The coffee is dusty, and the pastries a little stale, but the gaggle of decaying violin-players are skilled and surprisingly sprightly."
  18. ↑ Explore Venderbight, Sunless Sea "Here they sell copper jewellery: grimacing little faces and squat rectilinear figures. A tradition from before London, they claim."
  19. ↑ The Last Tour Operator, Sunless Sea "I have one dozen sad and bandaged souls here. They're choosing their final fate. Will you take them on one last diversionary tour? It may be a longish trip."
  20. ↑ A Game of Chess - Venderbight, Fallen London
  21. ↑ Remnants, Fallen London
  22. ↑ Déjà vu, Sunless Sea ""By this victory," you say - you hardly know why - "I claim the rights to the sight of this place." Your crew mutter and disperse, slinking into serpent-shape to wriggle across the clearing. The tree where you found the image is one of many: you stand in a jungle beneath an orange sun..."
  23. ↑ Bandages and Dust: The Tomb-Colonies, Fallen London "The bottle is three-quarters full of burgundy dust. "In Venderbight they call it a delicacy," he sobs. "A delicacy! Why is it trying to murder my brain?""
  24. ↑ A weighty decision, Fallen London "A palace cat bribed with secrets and Venderbight cave-herring brings you one tidbit."
  25. ↑ Unorthodox technologies, Fallen London
  26. ↑ Exploring Venderbight, Sunless Sea "Sweeter scents draw you into a shop which sells candles - lilac, lavender, honey. You fall into a discussion of their manufacture with the shop-keeper. "Yes," she says, proudly displaying her missing arm, "we render ourselves to good end."
  27. ↑ Lost in Reflections, Fallen London "She holds the audience entranced with Viennese folk music, a Piatti caprice, a thrumming Venderbight pavane—"
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