 |
|
-- Places --
St Pancras Station and Grand Hotel
The great gothic edifice of St Pancras Station is one of Living London's
most recognised landmarks. The old Victorian train shed still gives off
a sense of glory of the old steam age and the attached Grand Hotel dreams
of more glamourous times. Both buildings are famously haunted. Few people
suspect how much truth is in these stories. For herein resides the Citadel
of London. The Hierarchy runs most of London from inside the maze of rooms
and passages inside the Grand Hotel. All the Anacreons have their offices
here, and the place is generally swarming with various Hierarchy officials,
military personnel, bureaucrats, thralls and visitors. The Hotel overlooks
the station itself, where every night, the Midnight Express pulls in,
ready to be loaded with thralls, goods and passengers bound for Stygia
and other places. From outside, the already impressive structure is even
more overwhelming, as rising from the towers and fascias can be seen the
extensions made by the Dead: huge glistening structures of soulsteel:
and the numerous gargoyles, each created from a Moliated wraith, doomed
to watch over the vicinity for eternity.
The Tower
of London
Before moving its base of operations to the larger space at St Pancras,
the Hierarchy's main presence was always in the Tower of London and had
been since the construction of the building by William the Conqueror.
Nonetheless, some facilities are still maintained here by the Hierarchy.
Most notably, the dungeons, interrogation areas and the Great Forges.
Many living tourists visiting the Tower have sworn that they have heard
screams, the sounds of chains and torture, and the bellowing of some great
infernal fire. Few ever realise that what they heard is real.
Covent Garden Market
Behind the throngs of tourists and modern structures is the Old Covent
Garden Market. A building that exists only in the Shadowlands, but which
dominates the area. Inside the building is the market itself. Here thralls
and goods are bought and sold, Oboli flies around and services traded.
Any wraith can ply their wares here, providing they pay the one Obolus
trading fee to the Hierarchy. Outside the market building, the Shadowlands
own version of street theatre can be witnessed, as Sandmen, Chanteurs
and other performers demonstrate their skills to the gleeful crowds.
Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery is famously one of the most haunted areas in Britain.
Ghost hunters and spotters from all over the world have been known to
flock here, hoping for a glimpse of the world beyond death. This has had
an odd effect on the local Shroud, which within the Cemetery ranges from
being very weak to almost non-existent. The end result is that not only
are Skinlands-affecting Arcanoi incredibly easy to use here, but even
those wraiths without Embody can be heard by the living across the Shroud.
Inevitably, the Hierarchy shut down the area, worrying over the Dictum
Mortuum. But after an initiative by Clara Greenwick and the Grim Anacreon,
the place has been re-opened again, allowing limited trafficking with
the Living provided that the Dictum is always held in mind and that no
evidence of the world beyond the Shroud is ever revealed. The Hierarchy
maintain a strong guard presence here, and anyone spotted going too far
against the Dictum has found themselves being hauled off in chains to
the forges very quickly indeed....
Miraj Nightclub
The Miraj Nightclub is in Soho, contained within a building once used
by the Victorians as a tailoring sweat shop. Many people, including children,
died during those times, and the building remains a strong haunt to this
day. Nowadays, the place is a bustling nightclub, filled most evenings
with party-goers and dancers. But above all that in the attic rooms, Lucas
and his Renegade Gang: Death's Dragons maintain their base. All Renegades
are granted free access here, provided they can prove they are not spies
from the Hierarchy. As such, most nights involve much socialising, debate,
and rallying between the Renegades. And it is here that some of the most
devious, cunning and even downright outrageous plots against the Hierarchy
have been hatched.
The Purple Prose
The Purple Prose is a seemingly trendy poetry club on the outskirts of
Camden. However, despite the intriguing gothic decor, smiling staff and
well-stocked bar, the place is usually deserted. Only a handful of patrons
seem to frequent the place, regardless of the acts that are on offer.
On the other side of the Shroud it is a very different story. Every night
this place is packed full of wraiths from all walks of death, here to
socialise, have some fun, talk across faction barriers and to soak up
the passion from the poetry on offer. For this place is the only location
in London that has been declared neutral from Stygian Politics. Here,
Renegades brush shoulders with Hierarchy legionnaires, as truce is declared.
A carefully selected team of Haunters, Proctors and Puppeteers ensure
that the Living are for the most part kept out of the way. Oddly enough,
the busiest night is generally Open-Mike night, where even the living
wannabe poets are kept off the stage in favour of the dead. Many wraiths
old and young take to the stage, to mixed reactions from the crowd. Even
Clara Greenwick once famously had a go, to very mixed reactions indeed...
The London Underground
The largest and most complex underground railway system in the world is
generally shunned by the Restless Dead. Something about those pitch black
tunnels reminiscent of Oblivion itself cause most wraiths to shiver and
to find other means of transport. Rumours abound of wraiths who have braved
the train system only to never been seen again, however these have never
been proved. Nonetheless, stories circulate both by Psyches and Shadows
alike.
Andromeda London Offices
This glass and aluminium structure near Canary Wharf is possibly one of
the more discreet buildings in the new Docklands Development zone. Only
a small plaque reveals the company name, and visitors are greeted in through
tight security and ushered away from the classified areas. This is the
Central Office of Andromeda: the company which claims to send its agents
into the Land of the Dead to carry out whatever tasks their customers
desire. Although it is claimed that Andromeda do have some ghosts on their
payroll, those brave wraiths who have tried to infiltrate the area have
never been seen again.
|
|
|
|
