Helicon House

The entrance to Helicon House.

> *"Interlocked tentacles: a gathering place. Soothing bubbling noise: an invitation, hesitantly extended. An explanatory writhing: humans are only sometimes permitted. It will have to wait for a suitable time. Also, most of the other humans who attend are... what's that word? Painters? Raving? You've always had trouble distinguishing the terms."*
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**Helicon House** is an arts center in Ealing Gardens.

## Invites Only

> *"A Clay Man with an unusually keen expression keeps the door. He admits Rubbery Men without question, but challenges the human visitors."*
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Helicon House is Ealing Gardens' center for the arts, where Rubbery Men are free to express themselves and present their ideas to a wider audience. In its many halls and salons, Rubbery art and culture are given foremost importance: the majority of the artists here are Rubbery musicians and sculptors. Paintings by Bohemians are displayed too, representing many artistic schools. At its core, Helicon is a celebration of change - both of the changes brought upon by the Shapeling Arts, and of the evolving identity of the Rubbery people.

Helicon was built sometime after the Fall of London. Externally, it is a typical townhouse patterned after that of His Amused Lordship, though its rooms are doubled in size and feature Rubbery-influenced details. Its existence is a secret, even among London's counterculture; while Rubberies may enter freely, human visitors are vetted by the **Keen-Eyed Clay Doorkeeper**. The Doorkeeper provides guidance on proper etiquette towards Rubbery people and ensures orderly conduct within Helicon. For instance, entering late in the evening is frowned upon, as it is discourteous towards the musicians.

Helicon's staff includes humans, Clay Men, and Rubbery Men alike. Frequent visitors receive an amber pendant, which they are usually required to leave at the door when they enter.

## Main Halls

> *"It is a music of approximation; it offers imperfection as a necessary state, and mutation as inevitable."*
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At the **South Parlor**, Rubbery composers present their music at the start of each evening. Their works can be unorthodox, using dissonance and shifts in rhythm to convey feelings of development, imperfection, and mutability.

The **Supper Room** serves food supplied by Bohemians for human consumption, alongside dishes more amenable to Rubbery Men. (No, those are *not* potatoes!)

The **Yellow Salon** and **Prussian Salon** both showcase sculptures and paintings. The former is kept quiet, while the latter is a space for discussion.

## Secluded Corners

Beyond this point lie **major spoilers** for *Fallen London*, *Sunless Sea*, or *Sunless Skies*. This may include **endgame** or **Fate-locked** content. **Proceed at your own risk**.
You can find out more about our spoiler policy **here**.

> *"What was that flash of light? And is it a shade of light that should exist in these parts?"*
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> *"Behind Helicon House, a curling gallery of stalagmites forms a sort of shaded tunnel. This is a place for art that is too radical even for the interior of the house; sculptures of bone and amber, and some of the most secretive arts of the Rubbery Men."*
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The **Mirrored Salon** is a hidden wing of Helicon, where visitors seek inspiration from the arts of Parabola. The room is marked by flashes of light alien to this world, and the hallway leading to it is viric, decorated with vines and snakes. The room's interior is covered in mirrors, and illusionists here stage wonders and visions that would be too intense or esoteric for Mahogany Hall.

The **Upstairs Honey-Den** explains itself: consuming prisoner's honey in this hidden room leads to the Sea of Spines, a wondrous location reminiscent of Axile. Dreamers feel as though they are deep underwater in a moonlit sea, with aquatic features suiting their new environment. When they return, they find themselves drenched in liquid.

The **Sculpture Garden** is a refuge for artwork "too radical" even for Helicon. Here, Rubbery Men practice calligraphy, make sculptures of amber and bone, and tutor Bohemian sculptors. Some of these Bohemians have modified their anatomy using the Shapeling Arts to further their skills.

**Below-Stairs** is a basement beneath Helicon and a lab for the Shapeling Arts. Here, Rubbery Men gather around a massive crucible of amber to produce wonders of shaped flesh and bone. Visitors may participate as well, though newcomers are closely supervised.

## The Entrepreneur's Patronage

> *"The Tentacled Entrepreneur's study is windowless and dark, an interior void in the building that you wouldn't know was there from the shapes of the rooms around it."*
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> *"Within, a semicircle of guests surround a small sculpture on a dais. In the relative darkness, it's hard to make out the material, or the shape; something dark and tangled – a bramble, an octopus, a venus flytrap?"*
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The Tentacled Entrepreneur recently took an interest in Helicon. During his campaign to become Lord Mayor of London, he became one of its most generous patrons and worked to make it more accessible for the general public. His actions also helped Helicon become a key staging ground for the progress of Rubbery culture.

After the Entrepreneur's bid for Lord Mayor failed, however, he reevaluated his goals. In pursuit of his new priorities, he commissioned a Rubbery Man named the **Malleable Sculptor** to produce and showcase unique works of art, the first of which resembles a massive jaw that lightly clamps around those who interact with it. The Entrepreneur's further plans for himself and his kin are unclear, but it seems that rather than aimlessly striving for similarity with London, he's is pursuing another path, perhaps even a new beginning.

## References

2. ↑ Construe a significant burble, *Fallen London*
3. ↑ Helicon House (Storylet), *Fallen London*
4. ↑ Contribute some extra practitioners 2, *Fallen London* *"The Campanologist and the Herald join in enthusiastically. They have [...] limited opportunities to show their talents, in ordinary circumstances."*
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Listen to the compositions, *Fallen London* *"The finest Rubbery composers present their art here [...]"*
6. ↑ The Entrance Hall, *Fallen London* *"Helicon House is the result of an architect copying [...] townhouse [...] redesigning the rooms to be twice as large."*
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Catch up on Bohemian gossip, *Fallen London* *"One must be invited to Helicon House. [...] the most prominent Rubbery artists, [...] have you seen their sculpture...?"*
8. ↑ Admire the work of a fellow Nocturnal artist, *Fallen London*
9. ↑ Study the Portrait of the Tentacled Entrepreneur, *Fallen London*
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Detect where amber is being boiled, *Fallen London*
11. ↑ Listen to the compositions, *Fallen London* *"[...] there is a meaning in those dissonances, [...] A sense of purpose and even development, in the way a tune falls short of harmony and then comes very close to regaining it. [...] It is a music of approximation; it offers imperfection as a necessary state, and mutation as inevitable."*
12. ↑ Helicon House (Storylet), *Fallen London* *"The building has been built since the Fall."*
13. ↑ Catch up on Bohemian gossip, *Fallen London* *"[...] Helicon House. It is a little townhouse – looks like nothing at all from the outside [...]"*
14. ↑ The Entrance Hall, *Fallen London* *"Helicon House is [...] architect copying the [...] townhouse of His Amused Lordship, [...] and redesigning the rooms to be twice as large. The banisters have a tentacular curve."*
15. ↑ Catch up on Bohemian gossip, *Fallen London* *"[...] your interlocutor doesn't know how to get into Helicon House. [...] that puts her ahead of [...] those [...] who are so outside the mode [...] they don't even know it exists."*
16. ↑ Helicon House (Storylet), *Fallen London* *"A Clay Man [...] keeps the door. He admits Rubbery Men without question, but challenges the human visitors."*
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Pay in the currency of perishable wealth, *Fallen London* *"The Keen-eyed Clay Doorkeeper takes the payments, and collects hats and coats from the human guests. [...] he supplies a hand towel and a [...] guide to etiquette. [...] how to exchange greetings with a tentacled individual. [...]"*
18. ↑ Make polite conversation with a railway passenger, *Fallen London* *"He [...] starts painting over part of a Rubbery Man portrait [...] the Clay Doorman turns up to discourage further defacement exercises."*
19. ↑ Arrive fashionably late (Helicon House), *Fallen London* *"At Helicon House, it is a faux pas to arrive too long after the music starts. [...] is understood as a lack of enthusiasm about Rubbery composition, [...]"*
20. ↑ Track rumours you've been hearing, *Fallen London*
21. ↑ Stay after hours for a singular occasion, *Fallen London* *"A Clay Footman discreetly asks a few guests [...]"*
22. ↑ Accept a Pendant of Helicon Amber (40 FATE), *Fallen London* *"[...] the Slippery Secretary explains that this piece of amber was – selected? excreted? – specifically with you in mind."*
23. ↑ Accept a Pendant of Helicon Amber (40 FATE), *Fallen London*
24. ↑ Pay in the currency of perishable wealth, *Fallen London* *"The Keen-eyed Clay Doorkeeper [...] collects [...] amber pendants from the human guests. [...] He doesn't take your pendant, [...] "I was told to leave you with yours," [...] "You can turn yours in separately if you like."*
25. ↑ Listen to the compositions, *Fallen London*
26. ↑ The South Parlour, *Fallen London* *"The evening begins with music."*
27. ↑ Listen to the compositions, *Fallen London* *"The music establishes a beat, and then abruptly deviates from it. [...] there is a meaning in those dissonances, [...] It is a music of approximation; it offers imperfection as a necessary state, and mutation as inevitable."*
28. ↑ Gorge yourself on mushroom vols-au-vent, *Fallen London* *"[...] the food has been provided by the bohemians [...]"*
29. ↑ Dine with your Brother, Returned, *Fallen London* *"Those items might look like potatoes, but they are meant for the Rubbery Men. Break them open and they are full of glittering [...] spicules, [...]"*
30. ↑ The Yellow Salon, *Fallen London* *"There's [...] paintings and sculptures on display; [...] in contrast with the Prussian Salon, a polite hush is generally expected."*
31. ↑ The Prussian Salon, *Fallen London* *"There are paintings on display, and [...] sculptures, but the room is devoted primarily to conversation [...]"*
32. ↑ Discover where illusions are being staged, *Fallen London*
33. ↑ Be let into the sculpture garden, *Fallen London*
34. ↑ Discovered: the Mirrored Salon, *Fallen London* *"[...] place inside Helicon House where the Bohemians seek the inspiration of Parabola."*
35. ↑ Discover where illusions are being staged, *Fallen London* *"What was that flash [...] a shade of light that should exist in these parts? [...] The door into this room definitely exists. [...] the hallway is papered in viric wallpaper printed in a pattern of interlocking snakes and vines."*
36. ↑ The Mirrored Salon, *Fallen London* *"This Salon is set aside for illusions and magic. The visions shown here cannot be [...] at Mahogany Hall because they are too esoteric, too intimate, or too challenging [...] The Scoundrel discreetly notes his reflection in all these many mirrors."*
37. ↑ Work out where honey is being sipped, *Fallen London*
38. ↑ The Upstairs Honey Den, *Fallen London* *"They say that honey-sippers in Helicon House can find their way into [...] the Sea of Spines."*
39. ↑ Dream with the others, *Fallen London* *"A recollection of Axile [...] The surface of the ocean is above you; [...] Your limbs retract, your skin hardens to shell, spines extend from your body. [...] The moons have eclipsed one another twice [...] your gills [...] You come back to yourself. Your skin is slime-slick, [...]"*
40. ↑ Be let into the sculpture garden, *Fallen London* *"Behind Helicon House, [...] a place for art that is too radical even for the interior [...]"*
41. ↑ Be let into the sculpture garden, *Fallen London* *"Watch a Rubbery Calligraphist [...]"*
42. ↑ Be let into the sculpture garden, *Fallen London* *"This is a place for art [...] sculptures of bone and amber [...]"*
43. ↑ Be let into the sculpture garden, *Fallen London* *"A Bohemian and their Rubbery co-sculptor are working on something together. [...] The Rubbery Sculptor works in amber; its Bohemian Apprentice copies his work in clay. [...] He's uncommonly good at it; [...] you notice one extra knuckle on each finger, terminating in a very fine tip."*
44. ↑ Discovered: Below-Stairs, *Fallen London*
45. ↑ Below-Stairs, *Fallen London* *"At the back of Helicon House, [...] there is a room where extraordinary changes are performed – Shapeling alterations of flesh and bone. [...] you might take your own place at the cauldron."*
46. ↑ Perform the duties of a sous-artist, *Fallen London* *"[...] you can assist one of the others. [...] The Rubbery in charge is also extremely careful [...] about preventing any foreign objects from falling into the cauldron. It discourages you even from speaking [...] lest your concentration be broken. [...]"*
47. ↑ Chiaroscuro, *Fallen London*
48. ↑ Attend Helicon House as the guest of the Bohemian Sculptress, *Fallen London* *"The Tentacled Entrepreneur stands in front of [...] portraits of Rubbery men, writhing his critique [...] "He commissioned those," [...] He's become one of our best patrons [...]"*
49. ↑ Visit Helicon House as the guest of your Rubbery Bellringer, *Fallen London* *"This is a public night. [...] if the Tentacled Entrepreneur has his way, it will be easier to stay for a time."*
50. ↑ Visit Helicon House with the Dean of Xenotheology, *Fallen London* *"Several of the Rubbery people are gathered around a sculpture [...] "We shouldn't approach without permission," [...] "Their [...] posture is one associated with... sacred receptiveness. [...] This is a time of extraordinary change for them. A few years ago, Rubbery culture had nothing like this—""*
51. ↑ Discuss the Tentacled Entrepreneur's plans, *Fallen London* *"He ran for Mayor and lost. Is he embittered? Planning something new? [...] The old striving was... unsuitable?"*
52. ↑ Accept another invitation from the Tentacled Entrepreneur, *Fallen London* *"The Entrepreneur, [...] gesticulates an introduction; [...] this Rubbery is the one responsible for the [...] stone sculpture you touched in this very study, a few evenings ago."*
53. ↑ Stay after hours for a singular occasion, *Fallen London* *"Standing before the cauldron, [...] is the Malleable Sculptor – looking a bit more malleable than when you last saw him."*
54. ↑ Chiaroscuro, *Fallen London* *"The Tentacled Entrepreneur's study [...] Within, a semicircle of guests surround a small sculpture on a dais."*
55. ↑ Touch the sculpture, *Fallen London* *"[...] the sculpture [...] snaps shut around your hand [...] It's a pointed surprise, but not painful [...] [...] the object's shape [...] it's a mouth, or simply a jaw."*
56. ↑ Discuss the Tentacled Entrepreneur's plans, *Fallen London* *"He, or the Rubberies together, or his progenitors, tried to become worthy-through-similarity to other Londoners, [...] Now, that desire is replaced."*
57. ↑ Accept another invitation from the Tentacled Entrepreneur, *Fallen London* *"The Entrepreneur [...] looking for images that might explain: bohemians hawking paintings on the street in Veilgarden; hands holding brushes, chisels, and pens; [...] But also stranger images; a tangle of newborn serpents; a zee-steamer cresting the horizon; a single chicken's egg sitting on a table."*