Editing Seeking Mr Eaten's Name (Guide)

{{GuideFor|Concept = Concept:SMEN}}{{Audience|EarlyPoSI|Evergreen=yes}}[[Has icon::File:Appallingsecret.png|right]]
{{SMEN}}
<blockquote>Why? In God's name, why? What can you possibly hope to gain? Stop now. Before it's too late.</blockquote>
{{Wiki Note|The old version of this guide has been moved to [[Seeking Mr Eaten's Name (old)]].
}}

For the purposes of this guide, various qualities are often abbreviated:
*{{IL|Seeking Mr Eaten's Name}} = {{FontSMEN}}
*{{IL|Unaccountably Peckish}} = {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP}}
*{{IL|Marsh-Mired in Dreams of Sustenance}} = {{IL|Marsh-Mired in Dreams of Sustenance|Appearance=MMiDoS}}

== Why, Indeed? ==
So, you've decided to buckle down and join the quest for the Name with like-minded lunatics such as ourselves! Good on you! The road ahead leads only to misery and damnation and woe and personal loss and financial ruin and loneliness and death and imprisonment and ultimately, most famously, '''your character becoming permanently unusable'''.

Why would a player pursue such folly? Because Seeking Mr Eaten's Name is a story like the rest of Fallen London, and what a tale it is; the madness and obsession your character descends into is mirrored by your own as the Search devours all the progress you've worked so hard to gain. Because you simply have to know what happens at the end of the road. Because at every turn the game itself screams for you to stop, turn back, abandon this insanity before it's too late. Because the imp of the perverse sits on your shoulder the whole way and whispers "but aren't you ''curious''?" Because no other form of media makes you or even allows you to jump through so many hoops and fulfil so many requirements for what is explicitly and unequivocally {{IL|A Bad End}}. Because you want the item granted by turning back at the last moment as a morbid trophy of your fool's errand. Because you bloody well want to and nothing will dissuade you.

You can't say you haven't been warned.

==Beginning the Search==
[[File:Waves.png|right]]
In order to start the process of Seeking, you must first find a proper entry point into the quest. There are several options for this, though in most cases they require a bit of legwork. (It only gets harder from here on out, of course.)

*'''Source 1:''' Via the storylet [[In your dreams, you hear a voice echoing hollowly each night]] while [[Seeking Curios and Secrets in the Forgotten Quarter|exploring The Forgotten Quarter]]:
:::<u>Requires</u>: {{IL|The Airs of the Forgotten Quarter| 81-100}}, {{IL|Nightmares|5}}, and {{IL|A Scholar of the Correspondence}}

*'''Source 2:''' Using {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish}}:
:::A point or two of {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish}} can initially be gained by relaxing in your [[A library of your own|Voluminous Library]], from eating fresh [[Calm Seas: A Huge Terrible Beast of the Unterzee!|Rubbery Lumps]] at Zee, and via [[:Category:Unaccountably Peckish Gain|other methods listed here]].
:::Afterwards, you will begin to draw black-bordered opportunity cards (described in more detail below). Playing any option unlocked WITHOUT {{IL|Marsh-Mired in Dreams of Sustenance}} will give you one level of {{FontSMEN}}.
:::While you ''can'' begin your seach for the Name via these {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP}} cards, {{IL|Marsh-Mired in Dreams of Sustenance|Appearance=MMiDoS}} prevents you from gaining further levels of {{FontSMEN}} until your next visit from [[Time, the Healer]].

*'''Source 3:''' From the storylet [[But the view outside your window isn't right (Peckish)|But the view outside your window isn't right]] during [[A dream about your home]]:
:::<u>Requires</u>: {{IL|Having Recurring Dreams: Death by Water|7-9}} and no {{FontSMEN}}

*'''Source 4:''' Be [[Betray a Friend|betrayed]]:
:::At a later point in {{FontSMEN}}, Seekers may send social actions to betray their friends. Accepting a betrayal will make a fellow Seeker very happy, and it is unlikely that you will need to wait very long to find someone willing to send one to you.
:::Requests for betrayals may be posted in this [https://community.failbettergames.com/t/smen-betrayals-looking-for-fresh-fresh-betrayals/16230 forum thread], or anywhere else that Fallen London players congregate.
:::This option requires the player's having {{IL|Watchful}} 30, though this can be easily attained even by a brand-new character via leveling and {{IL|Watchful}} gear like the {{IL|Blemmigan Tourist}}.

*'''Source 5:''' By [[Accept a single crumb of bread|accepting a crumb of bread]] from Mr Sacks on his [[Day 9: At your window|Ninth Visit]]:
:::This takes place only during the {{IL|Christmas}} season, on Day 9 of {{IL|Experiencing Strange Times: Twelve Days of Mr Sacks}}.

===First Steps===
[[File:Trail.png|right]]
So, you're flirting with disaster, contemplating searching for the Name. Now what? A black-bordered card should show up...[[Ubiquitous Frequency|soon]]. The Northbound should turn their eye to their opportunity deck to wait for either of these cards: [[An Alphabet of Scars]] or [[A Banner with a Strange Device]], where you have a choice to make.  Either option sets you to {{FontSMEN}} 3, although the bolder choice offers more punishing consequences.

Upon reaching {{FontSMEN}} 2-3, you are given '''[[A WARNING]]''', which prompts you to choose between [[A Bad End]] (by continuing your search for the Name) or to exit the story altogether. ''You do not want to exit! Your course is set! You seek the Name.''
Now is an excellent time to boost your {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP}} to 1 and wait for the [[ACE OF HUNGERS]] card (see below). This will raise your weekly dose of {{FontSMEN}} to 4 and reduce {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP}} back to 0.

===Around London===
Rarely, options around London can help in your search. If you're lucky. Most of these are functionally irrelevant, since starting your search properly will put you at {{FontSMEN}} 4, and in a week (at most) you'll be at {{FontSMEN}} 5.

#'''[[Look into the water 1|Look into the water]]''' in the [[Old Sins|Cave of the Nadir]] will raise {{FontSMEN}} by 1, up to 4. Requires {{FontSMEN}} 1. Gives 2 {{IL|Irrigo}}, 2CP {{IL|Nightmares}}, and 1 {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish}}. Basically irrelevant as you're wasting precious time in the Cave of the Nadir and can get the 1 {{FontSMEN}} from {{IL|ACE OF HUNGERS}}
#'''[[Ask for help with a certain... obsession]]''' during an {{IL|Interview with the Interpreter: Death by Water}} from the [[The Interpreter of Dreams]] opportunity card. Increases {{FontSMEN}} by 1 on a 10% {{IL|Luck}} check. Requires {{IL|Having Recurring Dreams: Death by Water|10}} and {{FontSMEN}} 2-5. Also costs around half of a level of {{IL|Dangerous}} and {{IL|Watchful}} even on a failure and gives 10CP {{IL|Nightmares}} (5CP on a failure). Generally not worth it as it's functionally equivalent to {{IL|Image=Scrawl1.png|TWO OF BATS}} and {{IL|Image=Scrawl1.png|THREE OF ROSES}} in terms of costs; unless you absolutely care about preserving your {{IL|Connected: The Masters of the Bazaar}} for some reason; and those cards do not have a very hard luck check.
#'''[[Mr Pages' Educational Picture Postcards and Assorted Souvenir Stationery]]'''  in the {{IL|The Labyrinth of Tigers}} raises {{FontSMEN}} up to 6 on a (very) rare success of a 10% {{IL|Luck}} check. Requires {{FontSMEN}} 2-5, but doesn't give any penalties on a failure and a normal non-{{FontSMEN}} success gives 2 EPA worth of [[Cryptic Clue|Cryptic Clues]] and [[Secluded Address|Secluded Addresses]]; not great, not terrible.
#'''[[Accept the Name!]]''' from Mr Sacks on his [[Day 9: At your window|ninth visit]] during [[Christmas]]. Requires {{FontSMEN}} 3 and raises it by 1, up to {{FontSMEN}} 28. Seasonal, but has no tremendous costs aside from 20CP of {{IL|Nightmares}}.

===Options on [[The Seeking Road]]===
These options from your lodgings will let you increase {{FontSMEN}}, independently of the {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP}} cards. They options start out expensive and become even more so as you gain more levels of {{FontSMEN}}, rapidly becoming prohibitively expensive and eventually impossible. All options here with {{IL|Watchful}} challenges require {{IL|Sudden Insight|Appearance=Sudden Insights|0}}: it is far too late for second chances.

[[Drown your Secrets]] is cheapest option, and is most likely to prove useful. It costs approximately {{e}}11.5 in {{IL|Appalling Secret|Appearance=Appalling Secrets}} per level of {{FontSMEN}} you have. However, both its {{IL|Watchful}} difficulty and its costs increase very quickly.

The alternatives of [[Set fires around the city]] and [[Char yourself with Enigmas]] are more expensive, though they have easier {{IL|Watchful}} challenges. [[Make a wild guess]] is a worthwhile gamble if you have no Searing Enigmas already.  After {{FontSMEN}} 5, [[Pervert your studies]] requires literally impossible levels of {{IL|A Scholar of the Correspondence|SotC}}. [[Blacken your mind like paper]] is unlikely to ever be helpful, though since when has that stopped a truly devoted Seeker? [[Light a Taper]] is both the most expensive and the most useful: this forbidden rite gives a valuable item and 2 levels of {{FontSMEN}} with no known limit. The cost is prohibitively expensive, particularly the Impossible Theorem. To get one requires either an abundance of luck and Searing Enigmas or an advanced laboratory (and probably still some Enigmas).

*'''[[Blacken your mind like paper]] ({{FontSMEN}} 2):'''
**<u>Challenge</u>: {{IL|Watchful}} challenge of {{IL|Watchful|100}} + {{FontSMEN}}<sup>2</sup>
**<u>Cost</u>: Halves your {{IL|Watchful}}
**<u>Success</u>: Increases {{FontSMEN}}

*'''[[Pervert your studies]] ({{FontSMEN}} 2):'''
**<u>Challenge</u>: {{IL|A Scholar of the Correspondence|Appearance=ASotC}} challenge and requirement of {{FontSMEN}}<sup>2</sup>
**<u>Cost</u>: Halves your {{IL|A Scholar of the Correspondence}}
**<u>Success</u>: Increases {{FontSMEN}}

*'''[[Drown your Secrets]] ({{FontSMEN}} 4):'''
**<u>Challenge</u>: {{IL|Watchful}} challenge of {{FontSMEN}} × 20
**<u>Cost</u>: {{IL|Appalling Secret}} = 77 &times; {{FontSMEN}}, {{IL|Bottle of Greyfields 1879}} = {{FontSMEN}}
**<u>Success</u>: Increases {{FontSMEN}}

*'''[[Set fires around the city]] ({{FontSMEN}} 6):'''
**<u>Challenge</u>: {{IL|Watchful}} challenge of {{FontSMEN}} × 15
**<u>Cost</u>: {{IL|Mourning Candle}} = 77 &times; {{FontSMEN}}
**<u>Success</u>: Increases {{FontSMEN}}

*'''[[Char yourself with Enigmas]] ({{FontSMEN}} 8):'''
**<u>Challenge</u>: {{IL|Watchful}} challenge of {{FontSMEN}} × 10
**<u>Cost</u>: {{IL|Searing Enigma}} = 7 × {{FontSMEN}}
**<u>Success</u>: Increases {{FontSMEN}}

*'''[[Make a wild guess]] ({{FontSMEN}} 9):'''
**<u>Challenge</u>: Luck (success chance: 20%)
**<u>Cost</u>: {{IL|Appalling Secret|77 x}}
**<u>Success</u>: Gain {{IL|Searing Enigma|1 x}}
**<u>Failure</u>: Possibly lose {{IL|Searing Enigma|1 x}}

*'''[[Light a Taper]] ({{FontSMEN}} 18):'''
**<u>Cost</u>: All of your {{IL|Connected: The Masters of the Bazaar}}, {{IL|Antique Mystery|1 x}}, {{IL|Veils-Velvet Scrap|1 x}}, {{IL|Impossible Theorem|1 x}}, {{IL|Vial of Masters' Blood|1 x}}
**<u>Success</u>: {{IL|Dreadful Surmise|1 x}}, increases {{FontSMEN}} by 2

==={{IL|Unaccountably Peckish}}===
[[File:sidebarunaccountablypeckish.png|right]]Seekers hunger for forbidden knowledge, but there are more literal hungers as well. Satisfy those cravings, and perhaps your scholarly cravings will be satisfied in turn.

The easiest and most reliable way of raising {{FontSMEN}} at this early stage is through the sinister, black-bordered opportunity cards unlocked with {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish}}. These give 1 level of {{FontSMEN}} per week, to a maximum of 28.

====Gain====
*'''Talking to your Starvelling Cat, via [[See what your Starveling Cat knows]]:'''
:*<u>Requires</u>: {{IL|Starveling Cat|1 x}}, {{IL|Route: The Flit}}, progress in the {{IL|Embroiled in the Wars of Illusion|Appearance=Wars of Illusion}}.
:*<u>Gain</u>: {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP|3 x}}
:*'''N.B.''' You can generally get a cat quickly by looking on [https://community.failbettergames.com/t/the-starveling-cat-the-boxed-cat/14765 this thread in the forums] or the official Discord server. This is generally considered the fastest and most reliable way of increasing {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP}}.

*'''Giving away your Starveling Cat, via [["Enough! Someone else can deal with you!"]]:'''
:*<u>Requires</u>: {{IL|Starveling Cat|1 x}}
:*<u>Gain</u>: {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP|1 x}}
:*'''N.B.''' Good for trading back and forth with a dedicated alt, because it has no other prerequisites. Costs 2 actions per character (one to send, one to receive) when doing it as more than a one-off.

*'''Attend the Duchess' Salon and [[Attend and speak of...terrible things.|speak of terrible things]]:'''
:*<u>Requires</u>: {{IL|Connected: The Duchess|10}}, {{IL|Route: The Shuttered Palace}}, and {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP|2}}
:*<u>Gain</u>: {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP|1 x}}, {{IL|Scandal|+1 CP}}, {{IL|Nightmares| +4 CP}}

*'''Automatic gain each week from [[Time, the Healer]]:'''
:*<u>Requires</u>: any amount of {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP}} when [[Time, the Healer]] visits
:*<u>Gain</u>: {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP|1 x}}

====Loss====
*'''[[Buy some Rubbery Lumps]] in {{IL|The Labyrinth of Tigers}}:'''
:*<u>Requires</u>: {{IL|Jade Fragment|50 x}}, {{IL|Route: The Labyrinth of Tigers}}, {{IL|In the Labyrinth of Tigers, Navigating Coil}} exactly 1
:*<u>Loss</u>: {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP|2 x}}

*'''Sending Lyme to the market with [[A basket but no list]]:'''
:*<u>Requires</u>: {{IL|Route: Mahogany Hall}}
:*<u>Loss</u>: {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP|3 x}}
:*[[Take the Louche Devil to the Doubt Street Scullery]] is a functionally identical alternative, but awards {{IL|Nevercold Brass Sliver|Appearance=Brass}} instead of {{IL|Shard of Glim|Appearance=Glim}}

===Deck of Hungers===
The cards listed below are unlocked by increasing levels of {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish}} ({{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP}}). They are all [[:Category:Non-discardable|non-discardable]] and occur with [[Ubiquitous Frequency]], so they will rapidly fill your hand with little further intervention.

Each card has at least one option that gives one level of {{FontSMEN}} for varying costs, capped at 3 times the card's {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP}} unlock requirement. Each of these options are locked with {{IL|Marsh-Mired in Dreams of Sustenance}} and can thus be used only once per week.

The table below summarises the options available. Where there are mulitple options, the cheapest one is shown (click through to see the full set). All regular options reduce {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP|1 x}} (except for the [[KNIGHT OF FEASTS]]), while all the {{IL|Marsh-Mired in Dreams of Sustenance}} options give {{IL|Marsh-Mired in Dreams of Sustenance|Appearance=MMiDoS}} and increase {{FontSMEN}}. These effects are not shown in the table for lack of space.

{| class="article-table sortable"
! UP !! Card !! Regular Cost !! {{IL|Marsh-Mired in Dreams of Sustenance|Appearance=MMiDoS}} Cost
!Max {{IL|SMEN}} Gain
|-
|1
|{{IL|Image=Appallingsecret.png|ACE OF HUNGERS}}
|{{IL|Piece of Rostygold|-10 x}}
|{{TableList|{{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|-2 x}}|
{{IL|Penny|-(100 * ''new'' {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP}}) x}}}}
|4
|-
|2
|{{IL|Image=Scrawl1.png|TWO OF BATS}}
|Free
|{{TableList|{{IL|Connected: The Masters of the Bazaar|Appearance=Connected:<br/>Masters|-12 CP}}|
{{IL|Suspicion|+5 CP}}|
{{IL|Nightmares|+4 CP}}|
{{IL|Shadowy|-30 CP}}|
{{IL|Watchful|-30 CP}}}}
|7
|-
|3
|{{IL|Image=Scrawl1.png|THREE OF ROSES}}
|{{TableList|{{IL|Dangerous|+Challenge Success}}|
{{IL|Dangerous|-30 "bonus" CP}}|
{{IL|Shadowy|-30 CP}}|
{{IL|Wounds|+10 CP}}|
{{IL|Suspicion|+2 CP}}}}
|{{TableList|{{IL|Dangerous|+Challenge Success}}|
{{IL|Dangerous|-30 "bonus" CP}}|
{{IL|Shadowy|-30 CP}}|
{{IL|Wounds|+10 CP}}|
{{IL|Suspicion|+2 CP}}|
{{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|+1 x}}}}
|10
|-
|4
|{{IL|Image=Scrawl1.png|FOUR OF EYES}}
|{{TableList|{{IL|Favours: Bohemians|-3 x}}|
{{IL|Favours: Society|-3 x}}|
{{IL|Favours: The Church|-3 x}}|
{{IL|Connected: The Widow|-50 CP}}|
{{IL|Favours: Urchins|-3 x}}|
{{IL|Nightmares|+10 CP}}|
{{IL|Persuasive|-50 CP}}|
{{IL|Scandal|+4 CP}}}}
|{{TableList|{{IL|Favours: Bohemians|-3 x}}|
{{IL|Favours: Society|-3 x}}|
{{IL|Favours: The Church|-2 x}}|
{{IL|Favours: Urchins|-3 x}}|
{{IL|Connected: The Widow|-50 CP}}|
{{IL|Nightmares|+10 CP}}|
{{IL|Persuasive|-50 CP}}|
{{IL|Scandal|+4 CP}}}}
|13
|-
|5
|{{IL|Image=Scrawl1.png|FIVE OF LIGHTS}}
|{{TableList|{{IL|Penny|-(10 * {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP}}²) x}}|
{{IL|Scandal|+10 CP}}}}
|{{TableList|{{IL|Wounds|+25 CP}}|
{{IL|Suspicion|+15 CP}}}}
|16
|-
|6
|{{IL|Image=Scrawl1.png|SIX OF PEARLS}}
|{{TableList|{{IL|Shadowy|+Challenge Success}}|
{{IL|Wounds|+7 CP}}|
{{IL|Suspicion|+2 CP}}}}
|{{TableList|{{IL|Penny|-18 x}}|
{{IL|Wounds|+21 CP}}}}
|19
|-
|7
|{{IL|Image=Scrawl1.png|SEVEN OF WORDS}}
|{{IL|Wounds|+7 CP}}
|Free
|22
|-
|8
|{{IL|Image=Candleblack.png|KNAVE OF REGRETS}}
|{{TableList|{{IL|Shard of Glim|-50 x}}|
{{IL|Favours: The Church|+(0 to 1)x, random}}|
{{IL|Reputation: Abomination:|-1 x}}|
{{IL|Adrift on a Sea of Misery:|+1 x}}}}
|{{TableList|{{IL|Heartless|-3 CP}}|
{{IL|Melancholy|+3 CP}}|
'''or'''|
{{IL|Heartless|+3 CP}}|
{{IL|Melancholy|-3 CP}}}}
|25
|-
|9
|{{IL|Image=Bottleandglasstc.png|KNIGHT OF FEASTS}}
|{{TableList|{{IL|Sulky Bat|-1 x}}|
{{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|'''Unchanged'''}}}}
|Free
|28
|}

====Detailed Strategy Notes====
For ease of opportunity deck management, it is generally recommended to raise your {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP}} only as much as is needed to obtain the lowest-tier card which will still raise your {{FontSMEN}} However, do take care to balance this tactic with the costs and Menace gains associated with each {{IL|Marsh-Mired in Dreams of Sustenance|Appearance=MMiDoS}} option taken.

:''For example, the [[SEVEN OF WORDS]] ({{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP|7}}), the [[KNAVE OF REGRETS]] ({{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP|8}}), and the [[KNIGHT OF FEASTS]] ({{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP|9}}) are worthwhile stretch goals even for players who have less than {{FontSMEN}} 22, as these cards have no cost, give no Menaces and have high {{FontSMEN}}-gain caps.''<p>

:''The [[SIX OF PEARLS]], while having a high {{IL|Wounds}} gain associated with its {{IL|Marsh-Mired in Dreams of Sustenance|Appearance=MMiDoS}} option, is not terribly objectionable either.''

Because {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP}} cards are [[:Category:Non-discardable|Non-discardable]] and occur with [[Ubiquitous Frequency]], they have a tendency to clog your hand. Larger [[Lodgings]] which offer 4 or 5 card hands will prove useful at this stage.

Undesirable cards can be avoided by reducing your {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP}} below the threshold needed to unlock the particular card (upon which they will disappear from your hand). This can be done reliably by [[Buy some Rubbery Lumps|buying Rubbery Lumps in the Labyrinth of Tigers]] or [[A basket but no list|sending Lyme to the market in Mahogany Hall]]/[[Take the Louche Devil to the Doubt Street Scullery|taking the Louche Devil to the Doubt Street Scullery]]. You can also clear some cards by simply playing the {{IL|Marsh-Mired in Dreams of Sustenance|Appearance=non-MMiDoS}} options on lower-tier cards; for example, [[Roast chestnuts. That should do it.|buying roast chestnuts]] on the [[ACE OF HUNGERS]] or [[Fold the note and keep it. Nod somberly to yourself. 2|accepting the note]] on the [[TWO OF BATS]] will remove the card and lower {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP}} for little cost. A few normal opportunity cards reduce {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP}} as well, but it is innefficient to rely on those especially when {{FontSMEN}} cards are more likely to be drawn instead.

To reduce the action and monetary costs of reducing {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP}} and to avoid having your hand clogged with {{FontSMEN}} cards all the time, you should raise your {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP}} and play the card with the {{IL|Marsh-Mired in Dreams of Sustenance|Appearance=MMiDoS}} option you want shortly before {{IL|Time, the Healer|Appearance=your Time the Healer}} will fire off, and then once it does, to play another card with the {{IL|Marsh-Mired in Dreams of Sustenance|Appearance=MMiDoS}} option you want. This permits you to raise your {{FontSMEN}} practically twice in a single week, and thus you don't have to waste time raising and lowering {{IL|Unaccountably Peckish|Appearance=UP}} every single week, instead only having to do so every two weeks.

=={{IL|Weeping Scar|Appearance=Scars}}, {{IL|Memory of Chains|Appearance=Memories}}, {{IL|Stain on Your Soul|Appearance=Stains}}==
At {{FontSMEN}} 7, the card [[A Dream of Dark Waters]] will appear, granting you first {{IL|Weeping Scar}}. 

*'''[[SEVEN IS THE NUMBER: Gain a Weeping Scar]] ({{FontSMEN}} 14):''' Cover your body with the signs of your search. Carve the number into your flesh. Death is nothing before your purpose. Seven are the scars that will never heal.

**<u>Challenge</u>: Requires a {{IL|Skyglass Knife}}
**<u>Cost</u>: Unspeakable, and mounting with each {{IL|Weeping Scar}} you have — your {{IL|Correspondence Plaque|Appearance=Correspondence Plaques}}, your {{IL|Hard-Earned Lesson|Appearance=Hard-Earned Lessons}} and your [[a slow boat passing a dark beach on a silent river|life]] — many times over.
**<u>Success</u>: Gain {{IL|Weeping Scar|1 x}}, up to 7, because SEVEN IS THE NUMBER

*'''[[SEVEN IS THE NUMBER: Gain a Memory of Chains]] ({{FontSMEN}} 16):''' Burden your mind with memories of what you have done, what you have suffered. The courts aid you, unwitting. You shall never be free. Seven are the chains that weight your mind.
**<u>Challenge</u>: Luck (success chance: 50% and 70%)
**<u>Cost</u>: Unthinkable, and mounting with each {{IL|Memory of Chains}} you have — your treasures ({{IL|Piece of Rostygold}}, {{IL|Jade Fragment}}, {{IL|Moon-Pearl}}, {{IL|Shard of Glim}}), your secrets ({{IL|Whispered Hint}}, {{IL|Cryptic Clue}}, {{IL|Appalling Secret}}), your papers ({{IL|Proscribed Material}}, {{IL|Stolen Correspondence}}), your wines ({{IL|Bottle of Greyfields 1868 First Sporing}}, {{IL|Bottle of Greyfields 1879}}, {{IL|Bottle of Greyfields 1882}}, {{IL|Bottle of Fourth City Airag: Year of the Tortoise}}, {{IL|Bottle of Broken Giant 1844}}, {{IL|Bottle of Morelways 1872}}) and your {{IL|Sudden Insight|Appearance=Sudden Insights}}. You will also become intimately re-acquainted with {{IL|New Newgate Prison - again!}}.
**<u>Success</u>: Gain {{IL|Memory of Chains|1 x}}, up to 7, because SEVEN IS THE NUMBER

*'''[[SEVEN IS THE NUMBER: Gain a Stain on your Soul]] ({{FontSMEN}} 18):''' Mark your soul with the unspeakable. Only {{IL|Starveling Cat|Appearance=a monster}} can help you now, but soon you will be the monstrous one. ''Soon.'' Seven are the stains that mark your soul. If you don't own your soul, you must regain it first. And never, ''never'', '''never''' sell a stained soul.

**<u>Challenge</u>: Luck (success chance: 50%), and you will need a {{IL|Starveling Cat}}
**<u>Cost</u>: Unconscionable, and mounting with each additional {{IL|Stain on Your Soul}}: vast quantities of {{IL|F.F. Gebrandt's Superior Laudanum}} and your {{IL|Confident Smile|Appearance=Confident Smiles}}.
**<u>Success</u>: Gain {{IL|Stain on Your Soul|1 x}}, up to 7, because SEVEN IS THE NUMBER

===A Warning About Damaged Goods!!===
If you do {{IL|Your very own Infernal Contract|Appearance=sell your soul}} after staining it, DO NOT enter {{IL|The Forgotten Quarter}} — lest you be [[The Sound of His Horn|set upon by devils]] attempting to forcibly re-insert it. Unless you escape into madness via a difficult Shadowy challenge, you will lose most of your [[Infernal]] items ({{IL|Soul}}, {{IL|Brilliant Soul}}, {{IL|Coruscating Soul}}, {{IL|Silent Soul}}, {{IL|Bright Brass Skull}}, {{IL|Favours: Hell}}), certain valuable treasures ({{IL|Eyeless Skull}}, {{IL|Ray-Drenched Cinder}}, {{IL|Vial of Cantigaster Venom}}), ''all your {{E|Echoes}}'', and of course your life and sanity ({{IL|Wounds|15}} and {{IL|Nightmares|15}}).

===Detailed Strategy Notes===
The methods by which you gain a {{IL|Memory of Chains}} and {{IL|Weeping Scar}} do not give CPs of {{IL|Suspicion}} and {{IL|Wounds}} respectively, but instead set those respective qualities to a specific value before sending you to the associated Menace Location. Therefore, optimal play would have you wait until your {{IL|Suspicion}} and {{IL|Wounds}} are at least at level 7 before you gain your next scar or memory. {{IL|Stain on Your Soul|Appearance=Staining your soul}} will wound you in the process so doing that first can give you headway on getting to level 7 in {{IL|Wounds}}, however the seventh and final stain will send you to {{IL|a slow boat passing a dark beach on a silent river|Appearance=the slow boat}} automatically, so be careful to not waste the wounds build-up of the previous steps.

Optimal play for these storylets will also necessitate that you minimise item wastage. None of these storylets actually cost the items that are not required to play the storylet, so therefore you should use or sell the items before playing these. With the exception of your {{IL|Hastily Scrawled Warning Note|Appearance=Hastily Scrawled Warning Notes}}, all the storylets will cost you your Second Chances if you have them, so use them before you lose them.
**{{IL|The Body and the Number}} does not cost you any items beyond your Second Chances and the initial investment of your {{IL|Correspondence Plaque|Appearance=7 Correspondence Plaques}}, which may end up being more than 7 due to the first scar being behind a 50% {{IL|Luck}} check.
**{{IL|The Soul and the Number}} is a bit different. Although not costing you any items beyond your Second Chances and the {{IL|F.F. Gebrandt's Superior Laudanum|Appearance=Laudanums}} for further staining, the first Stain is a 50% {{IL|Luck}} check, and failure will cost you 500 {{IL|Rat on a String|Appearance=Rats on a String}} and {{IL|Silk Scrap|Appearance=Silk Scraps}} each, but only on the first stain, using or selling those items beforehand is therefore recommended. Furthermore, you will lose your {{IL|Starveling Cat}} as well on the first, fourth, and fifth Stains, so you will need a grand total of four cats to finish staining your soul.
**{{IL|The Mind and the Number}} however is an absolute b***ard when it comes to item costs, second only to the {{IL|Winking Isle}} in terms of potential costs, and you should absolutely get rid of the the items beforehand so as not to waste them.
***The first {{IL|Memory of Chains}} is yet another bl**dy 50% {{IL|Luck}} check. Success costs {{IL|Whispered Hint|500 x}} and {{IL|Cryptic Clue|250 x}}, failure insults you with a cost of 500 of each {{IL|Piece of Rostygold}} {{IL|Jade Fragment}} {{IL|Moon-Pearl}} in addition to {{IL|Wounds|+10 CP}}. To minimise frustration you should go for the first four {{IL|Memory of Chains|Appearance=Memories}} before you go for your {{IL|Weeping Scar|Appearance=Weeping Scars}} so as not to waste {{IL|Wounds|Appearance=Wound}} levels.
***The second, third, and fourth {{IL|Memory of Chains|Appearance=Memories}} are behind a 70% {{IL|Luck}} check. Failure here is a near inversion of the first {{IL|Memory of Chains|Appearance=Memory's}} success, costing you {{IL|Whispered Hint|500 x}} and {{IL|Cryptic Clue|500 x}} in addition to the {{IL|Wounds|+10 CP}}. Success costs you 500 of each {{IL|Jade Fragment}} {{IL|Shard of Glim}} {{IL|Moon-Pearl}} for a potential grand total of 1500+ of each.
***The fifth and sixth {{IL|Memory of Chains|Appearance=Memories}} are thankfully no longer behind a luck check. You will lose 250 each of {{IL|Proscribed Material}} and {{IL|Stolen Correspondence}}, for a grand total of 500 each.
***The seventh and final {{IL|Memory of Chains}} has a staggering potential cost of {{IL|Whispered Hint|2500 x}}, {{IL|Cryptic Clue|500 x}}, {{IL|Appalling Secret|50 x}}, {{IL|Bottle of Greyfields 1879|500 x}}, {{IL|Bottle of Greyfields 1882|500 x}}, {{IL|Bottle of Morelways 1872|50 x}}, {{IL|Bottle of Broken Giant 1844|25 x}}, '''ALL''' {{IL|Bottle of Greyfields 1868 First Sporing}}, and one {{IL|Bottle of Fourth City Airag: Year of the Tortoise}}.
*Final checklist of required items: {{IL|Skyglass Knife|1 x}} (not consumed), {{IL|Correspondence Plaque|Appearance=at least 7 Correspondence Plaques}}, {{IL|F.F. Gebrandt's Superior Laudanum|Appearance=at least 80 Laudanums}}, {{IL|Starveling Cat|Appearance=4 Starveling Cats}}.

==The Candles, Part One==
With body, mind, and soul each marked seven times, you may comprehend the Candles. This is the final Seven at last, written high in fire. This is your true purpose, your life's meaning. The reckoning shall come.
==={{IL|St Arthur's Candle}}===
[[File:Candleblack.png|right]]

Requires {{IL|Weeping Scar|7 x}},{{IL|Memory of Chains|7 x}}, {{IL|Stain on Your Soul|7 x}}, and {{FontSMEN}} 21. [[The Number and the Candles]] will appear in [[The Seeking Road]]. This is where you begin the quest for St Arthur's Candle. You must betray your friends and companions.
The easiest option is to betray other players through social actions. The even easier option is to betray alts. It's also possible to betray (and lose by doing so) [[Betray the Master Jewel-Thief|certain]] [[Betray the Celebrated Artist's Model|NPC]] [[Betray your Boneless Consort|spouses]], a [[Betray your Midnight Matriarch|Midnight Matriarch]], or even [[Betray your Noman?|your Noman]], though the Noman is perhaps best saved for later in the process, indeed, none of the NPCs are worth betraying. The seventh betrayal, and only the seventh, may be [[Spread the seeds|performed at Mahogany Hall]] during a Wednesday show.

Each {{IL|The Stench of Betrayal}} must be converted to {{IL|Footsteps of the False Saints|}} through seven rituals. Each requires {{IL|Searing Enigma|1 x}} and additional materials. In order, these are:
* {{IL|Mourning Candle|1 x}}
* {{IL|Thirsty Bombazine Scrap|1 x}}
* {{IL|Brass Ring|1 x}}
* {{IL|Bazaar Permit|1 x}}
* {{IL|Patent Scrutinizer Deluxe!|1 x}}
* {{IL|Night-Whisper|1 x}}
* {{IL|Brilliant Soul|60 x}}. 

Alternately, you can [[Break on through to the other side|skip some or all of these footsteps]] with {{IL|Elemental Secret}}s, attempting to trade one Secret at a time for one level of Footsteps of the False Saints, with the success rate depending on how many secrets you have in total. At 7 it's ''technically'' possible to get the candle from this alone (around .04% likely for seven decreasingly-likely successes in a row), and at 15 it's guaranteed. You know, if farming up {{E}}4687.50 worth of hard-to-get items is a more appealing idea to you than just betraying some people.

Regardless of which path you take, the final step will have a savage effect on your {{IL|Dangerous}} and {{IL|Persuasive}}. More importantly, you will gain {{IL|St Arthur's Candle}} and a level of {{FontSMEN}}.

==={{IL|St Beau's Candle}}===
[[File:Demetergreen.png|right]]

'''Requires {{IL|St Arthur's Candle}} and {{FontSMEN}} 24'''.  [[St Beau's Candle (Seeking Road Storylet)|Searching for St Beau's Candle]] requires you to pass a 20% Luck check, or spend {{IL|Appalling Secret|1000 x}}), to reach {{IL|Mrs Plenty's Carnival (SMEN)|Appearance=Mrs Plenty's Carnival at midnight}}. 
Bring {{IL|Memory of Light|150 x}} and {{IL|Moon-Pearl|3330 x}}; you will lose all your {{IL|Carnival Ticket|Appearance=Carnival Tickets}} and must buy more with the Moon-Pearls to enter the House of Mirrors. Then—''then''—you will have a Conversation with a Lady. She will require you to surrender one of:
* all your Lodgings (only possible if one of them is a {{IL|Lengthy Lease to Premises at the Bazaar}})
* your friends (Connected, Favours, Renown; requires Renown 5)
* your health (sets all 4 major menaces to 8)
* 40 {{FontFate}} (usually a little less than US$13)
**<u>Success</u>: {{IL|St Beau's Candle}}, {{IL|Seeking Mr Eaten's Name|Appearance=SMEN|1 x}}

It is not terribly difficult to raise faction Renown to 5 via Mrs Plenty's (non-nightmare) carnival, and if your account was created specifically to Seek you may not consider the loss of Renown a lasting downside. 

=====Dealing with Menaces=====
If you [[Surrender your health]], you're going to be in the [[Menace Locations (Guide)|Menace areas]] for quite a while, one after another. In order, you will experience {{IL|a slow boat passing a dark beach on a silent river|Appearance=death}}, for at least the eighth time ; then {{IL|Disgraced exile in the Tomb-Colonies|Appearance=exile}}; then {{IL|A state of some confusion|Appearance=confusion}} or {{IL|The Mirror-Marches|Appearance=madness}}; then finally {{IL|New Newgate Prison - again!|Appearance=imprisonment}} yet again. Be prepared for this before going to the Carnival. You may want, for example, to ensure high enough {{IL|Making Waves}} to tide over your {{IL|Notability}} for a week or two, as well as {{IL|Memory of Light|Appearance=Memories of Light}} if you want ensure a trip to {{IL|The Mirror-Marches}} instead of the {{IL|A state of some confusion|Appearance=State of Confusion}}. If you are willing to cheat yourself, then time it so that Time, The Healer triggers while you are on {{IL|a slow boat passing a dark beach on a silent river}}. This reduces all menaces by 1 CP, letting you avoid the other Menace Areas and giving you more time to clear Menaces.

For a full detail of how to best deal with the menace locations see [[Menace Locations (Guide)]]

You can also accept social actions to just as you are sent to your lodgings, before using the Onwards button. You'll need to ask for [[Ask a friend to cover for you|Suspicion]] and [[Ask someone for help in laying rumours to rest|Scandal]] assistance ahead of time. Wounds and Nightmares reduction require only an acquaintance with good timing; surely they wouldn't [[Poison an acquaintance!|betray your trust]] or [[Make scientific study of your friend's Nightmares|make matters worse]] in your hour of direst need. Would they? Well of course they're not because you're going to use the alts that you created for betraying for {{IL|St Arthur's Candle}} because you have at least a half-way functioning brain.

Finally, if all else falls through, it's worth acknowledging the existence of the {{IL|...or you could just give up}} card on the slow boat; taking a brief nap might set you back on evading death, but will at least keep you from going entirely mad afterwards. (There's also a [['I took the hint...'|nightmare reduction]] in exile, but sequencing means the [[Lament your sins|nightmare/scandal reducer in prison]] is useless for this. Bah.)

==={{IL|St Cerise's Candle}}===
[[File:Candlecherryred.png|right]]
'''Requires {{IL|St Beau's Candle}} and {{FontSMEN}} 27'''. You must sacrifice something precious to [[St Cerise's Candle (The Forgotten Quarter)|the well]]:
* An {{IL|Overgoat}}
* A {{IL|Classic Short Story}}
* {{IL|Fluke-Core|Appearance=Fluke-Cores|7 X}}
* Your {{IL|Noman}}
* {{IL|A Daughter in the Shadows|Appearance=Your Nearly-Daughter}} {{FontFate}}
* An {{IL|Ubergoat}} {{FontFate}}

If timed well, the {{IL|Noman}} may be the easiest and cheapest tribute for this step. Otherwise, an {{IL|Overgoat}} costs 11,700 Echoes and is purchasable from the Bazaar; {{IL|Fluke-Core|Appearance=Fluke-Cores}} [[Do you recall how they came to that place?|may be obtained (very slowly) from the Cave of the Nadir]], and [[The Writer's Desk: Finish a Short Story|Classic Short Stories may be written]] with the help of ''at least'' two {{IL|Trade Secret|Appearance=Trade Secrets}} (which accumulate at the rate of one per month from [[Time, the Healer]]).

Once the sacrifice is made, you'll gain {{IL|St Cerise's Candle}} and a level of {{FontSMEN}}, or two levels if you sacrificed an {{IL|Ubergoat}}.

With {{IL|St Cerise's Candle}} and {{FontSMEN}} exactly 28, you may spend {{IL|Uncanny Incunabulum|7 x}} for a hint to [[The Lower Mysteries 1| continuing your search for the Name]]. This is not required to progress but the single level of {{FontSMEN}} you gain may prove useful.

=={{IL|Winking Isle}}==
Once you can no longer gain {{FontSMEN}} levels from Peckish cards, the next step acquiring {{IL|Mr Eaten's Calling Card?}} to reach {{IL|Winking Isle}}. The very fortunate might receive one from a former Seeker who no longer has use for theirs, so [https://community.failbettergames.com/t/seeking-a-chain-letter-mr-eatens-calling-card/15919 try asking on the forums] or on Discord.

Otherwise, you must reach {{FontSMEN}} 29 and [[Ask about a certain passage of St Matthew, and its revisions|ask God's Editors for help]] (as either [[A Day with God's Editors|a member]] or [[Making the Good Book Better|a potential member]]). If you have the correct amount of {{IL|Proscribed Material}}, you will be allowed to progress.

Once you have the Calling Card, you can [[Sleep with the Calling Card crumpled in your fist|travel to the Isle]] from The Seeking Road, but make sure you have what's required before doing so.

===Preparations===
To travel to Winking Isle, you must have {{IL|A Question -}}. To study the Lower Mysteries, you must have modified Watchful 200. What you must ''not'' have is rather more important and more extensive. Before arriving, you must give up the following:

* All but {{e}}7.77
* Glim, diamonds, gemstones, and jewellery
* Society favours
* Rumour and influence items
* Puzzling Maps, Partial Maps, Map Scraps, and London Street Signs
* Wines and Docks favours 
* Nostalgia items
* Elder items
* Valuable treasures (worth {{e}}312.50 or more)

To go deeper still, and reach {{IL|The Sun beneath the Sea?}}, you must give up still more before arriving at the Isle:
* Zee-Ztories
* Rag-trade items
* Mysteries
* Wild words
* Rubbery items
* Mysteries

These lists are broad and not comprehensive. See [[Preparations]] for the complete list.

A detailed analysis of {{IL|Winking Isle}} can be found [https://nbviewer.jupyter.org/gist/d0sboots/5dc4117f7fb471882156ada4fff33e52 here] and [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Hh6tsG2EcKCRRcAJxxOzBU7Ie1MYswGtzTTZIS22v5M/edit here]. The nearly-optimal strategy is:
#[[Prepare]] when <77
#[[Watch the well|Watch]] when 77-99
#[[Circle the well|Circle]] when 100-395 (this range only comes up if you fail some luck rolls)
#[[Watch the well|Watch]] when 396-1616
#[[Circle the well|Circle]] when >=1617, except:
##[[Watch the well|Watch]] if within 550 of target
##[[Wait by the well|Wait]] if within 50 of target
#Cash out at [[Insight|60000]] (best) or [[Understand|10000]]

Gaining 7 {{FontSMEN}} at a time takes ~220.27 actions, while stopping at 10k to gain 1 {{FontSMEN}}} takes ~49.05.

Because the process of preparing for [[Preparations]] is so onerous, it is generally recommended that players get all their Fasting and Meditating done in one go. This will save some time, compared to leaving and returning as various candles' unlock requirements are met. Make sure you get rid of all the stuff you need to for [[Preparations]] before departing; there is no way to sell or discard them on the island

Players who wish to preserve some portion of their Echoes despite the requirements of [[Preparations]] may invest a few items.
* {{IL|Bright Brass Skull|Appearance=Bright Brass Skulls}} can be used to build skeletons, or resold to the Bazaar for 95% of their purchase price.
* {{IL|Rookery Password|Appearance=Rookery Passwords}} can also be resold nearly at cost, and won't be lost to devils hunting in the Forgotten Quarter.
* {{IL|Relic of the Third City|Appearance=Third City relics}} can be traded in at the [[The Archaeology Wing|Prelapsarian Museum]] and stored as {{IL|Curator's Gratitude}}. The efficiency of this improves with your base Persuasive.
* You can up-convert your basic items and side-convert your {{E}}0.50 tier items into items that wouldn't be denied by [[Preparations]]. The {{E}}0.50 tier items that are safe for players who are {{IL|The Sun beneath the Sea?|Appearance=Seeking Salt}} are {{IL|Memory of Distant Shores}}, {{IL|Memory of Light}}, and {{IL|Brilliant Soul}}. For everyone else, {{IL|Correspondence Plaque}}, {{IL|Whisper-Satin Scrap}}, {{IL|Tale of Terror!!}}, {{IL|Journal of Infamy}}, and {{IL|Zee-Ztory}} will also be safe.

<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Detailed Item Preservation Guide</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
Effectively preserving your wealth for this step can be difficult, and is one of many reasons that some people choose to make characters solely for Seeking so that they do not have to agonize over throwing away their efforts. But it is possible to preserve the majority of your wealth for this part of Seeking if you play your cards right. This advice does not really apply if, for whatever inane reason, you wish to obtain the vanity quality from {{IL|The Sun beneath the Sea?|Appearance=Seeking Salt}} without actually intending to go all the way with Seeking to the very end, you simply have to give up too much and are limited to only three categories of items, so it is not action efficient or cost efficient to do so, although it is admittedly possible, just very annoying to de-convert from in the end.

Step by step of Preparation, what you'll be able to preserve on each step or otherwise cash out to something valuable varies and is often interlinked with the other steps.
*{{IL|You have set aside jewels and riches|Appearance=Step 1:}} Set aside the {{IL|Shard of Glim|Appearance=Glim}} for now, we'll come back to it in a few steps. Aside from that there is unfortunately nothing you can really preserve here or cash out, just sell them for Echoes and buy {{IL|Bright Brass Skull|Appearance=Brass Skulls}} for either reselling at a 5% loss or [[Bone Market (Guide)|Brass Lolipop Bone Market shenanigans]]. This advice applies from hereon out if you choose to sell an item for echoes instead of converting or cashing it out for something else.
*{{IL|You have given up your intrigues|Appearance=Step 2:}} For the most part, you are again limited to selling or converting the items here. Notably however, {{IL|An Identity Uncovered!|Appearance=Uncovered Identities}} are not on the chopping block here, so you may upconvert Gossip to that if you wish. 
**{{IL|Blackmail Material}} can rather conveniently; along with some other items from other steps; be spent at [[Alchemy at Station VIII (Guide)|Station VIII]] for items that will be needed for late late-game content and are safe from [[Preparations]].
**{{IL|Personal Recommendation|Appearance=Personal Recommendations}} are best spent with the {{IL|The Lofty Tower: the Potential of Premises at the Bazaar|Appearance=Bazaar 5-card Lodgings Card}} on the {{IL|A Private Auction}} option. This is essentially gambling and gives you a random amount of money, a minimum of 36-ish and a maximum of 109-ish Echoes.
*{{IL|You have rejected wine and song|Appearance=Step 3:}} You finally have real options here.
**{{IL|Vial of Masters' Blood|Appearance=Masters' Blood}} has a few uses, if you are close to acquiring a Vial of it, you should endeavor to do so before throwing away the rest of your Wines. As you can...
***Spend it at [[...would they dare?|Whitsun for a certain hard-to-acquire Book]], don't do this if you are {{IL|The Sun beneath the Sea?|Appearance=Seeking Salt}} though, as that book is disallowed there.
***{{IL|Light a Taper}} if you also have the other requisite treasures that are disallowed for Salt-Seekers, not efficient considering that even if you are {{IL|The Sun beneath the Sea?|Appearance=Seeking Salt}} the {{IL|Dreadful Surmise}} you get is also disallowed.
***Gain {{IL|The Cloven Seal}} from the [[The Unsanctioned Relicker]], functionally a vanity item.
***Spend it on the last part of the [[Twilit Smuggler (Guide)|Smuggler storyline]], functionally a vanity quality given that it's used mainly for pursuing another vanity achievement: [[The Inescapable Ubiquity of your Countenance]]. It should be noted that Seeking up to the point of Staining your Soul in the first place will lock you out of acquiring this achievement unless you are willing to shell out real-world money on the {{FontFate}}-locked story [[Flint]].
***{{IL|Upgrade your guest room to a Spire-Emporium|Appearance=Gain the 5-card version of the Bazaar Lodgings.}} Probably the best usage for the Blood of these options, although you can also acquire this upgrade at Christmas for much less if you are willing to wait, see [[Christmas (Guide)]] for details.
**{{IL|Bottle of Fourth City Airag: Year of the Tortoise|Appearance=Airag}} can be spent twice, one for each option, although by this point in the game you should already have done these or their alternative options.
***{{IL|Invest in a Stall of your Own|Appearance=Upgrading your stall at the Bone Market}}
***{{IL|Buy a faded wardrobe from the Coquettish Relicker|Appearance=Expanding your number of Outfits to 4}}
**Any leftover {{IL|Bottle of Broken Giant 1844|Appearance=Broken Giant}} can be spent on [[A Kitchen for Artists (Guide)|cooking at Station VIII]].
*{{IL|No map knows the place you go|Appearance=Step 4:}} Upconvert your Cartographical items (including the Glim from Step 1) until you have as many as {{IL|Puzzling Map|Appearance=Puzzling Maps}} you can. Upconvert the Maps into {{IL|Salt Steppe Atlas|Appearance=Salt Steppe Atlases}}, as post-Winking-Isle you can simply [[Break up your atlas into Puzzling Maps]] to recoup your Maps. Any extra Puzzling Maps can be assembled into {{IL|Relatively Safe Zee Lane|Appearance=Relatively Safe Zee Lanes}}.
*{{IL|No more sweet memories; no more bitter|Appearance=Step 5:}} For the most part you are limited to selling Nostalgia items.
**{{IL|Touching Love Story|Appearance=Touching Love Stories}}; if you have a great surfeit of them; be spent on [[Painting in Balmoral (Guide)|Painting in Balmoral]], although it will take a while to efficiently offload them through this.
**{{IL|Bazaar Permit|Appearance=Bazaar Permits}} can either be spent on acquiring the [[Your just due|4-card Bazaar Lodgings (costs 50)]] if you don't already have them or [[Put in an order for a suitcase|getting a piece of Respectable Luggage equipment.]]
*{{IL|You know nothing of Stone's light|Appearance=Step 6:}} Again, for the most part you are limited to selling Elder items.
**{{IL|Mountain-sherd|Appearance=Mountain-sherds}} can be offloaded into [[Offering Tribute to the Court of the Wakeful Eye|Tribute]].
**A {{IL|Primaeval Hint}} can be spent on {{IL|Buy an amber wardrobe from the Capering Relicker|Appearance=expanding your number of Outfits to 4}}.
**{{IL|Antique Mystery|Appearance=50 Antique Mysteries}} can be spent on the [[Buy a permanent reservation at the Royal Bethlehem Hotel|4-card Royal Beth Lodgings]].
*{{IL|Your chiefest treasures are gone|Appearance=Step 7:}} 
**With the exception of the {{IL|Reported Location of a One-Time Prince of Hell|Appearance=Location}}, you may spend these treasures in [[Building a Parabolan Device|the Waswood version of Mr Chimes' Grand Clearing-Out]], receiving [[Singed and Stained Work Gloves|Double Strict-BIS KT gloves in exchange]].
**{{IL|Breath of the Void}} can be spent in [[Exhale a Breath of the Void|Discordant Studies]].
**As mentioned above, {{IL|Veils-Velvet Scrap|Appearance=Veils Velvet}} can be spent on {{IL|Light a Taper}}.
**{{IL|Reported Location of a One-Time Prince of Hell|Appearance=Hell Locations}} unfortunately have no usage aside from selling.
</div></div>


Incidentally, Winking Isle has [[The Lighthouse|no lighthouse]]. You may enter anyways, if you so desire, but it will cost you {{IL|St Destin's Candle|Appearance=no candle}} in exchange for 1 {{FontSMEN}}.

With {{FontSMEN}} 71, it's safe to leave the isle behind for good. Destin's, Erzulie's, and Fortigan's each give one level, while the process of gaining Gawain's will always gain you at least three levels of {{FontSMEN}} and perhaps as many as six. If you intend to [[Offer yourself]] and [[Refuse soup]] you may leave with only {{FontSMEN}} 68. Theoretically; if one is willing to blow 7 actions returning later for {{IL|A Book of Crimson Prayer|Appearance=the Book of Crimson Prayer}}; you could also leave at {{FontSMEN}} 65 if you decided to be the sort of madman who left for the isle without acquiring Arthur's, Beau's, and Cerise's candles first. Exceptional madmen could leave at {{FontSMEN}} 63 if they {{IL|Enter the lighthouse.|Appearance=sacrifice Destin's candle to the above-mentioned lighthouse}}, as they will receive another point of {{FontSMEN}} from reacquiring Destin's. Unaccountably insane Seekers could leave with {{FontSMEN}} 61-62 if they decide to throw an {{IL|Ubergoat}} down {{IL|St Cerise's Candle (The Forgotten Quarter)|Appearance=Cerise's well}} and/or {{IL|Light a Taper}}, although at that point you're better off just toughing it out for two more cycles around the Well.

==The Candles, Part Two==
==={{IL|St Destin's Candle}}===
[[File:Candletranslucent.png|right]]
'''Requires {{FontSMEN}} 35''': This is no candle, and so it requires no prior candles. The primary way to obtain it is by consuming yourself: With {{IL|Notability}} 12 and no {{IL|Profession:|Appearance=Profession}}, you may [[Gain St Destin's Candle]] during {{IL|A visit from Slowcake's Amanuensis}}.
There are seasonal alternatives, both of which require {{IL|St Cerise's Candle}}:
* During Hallowmas, with one confession of each type and 77 in all highway stats, grant the candle to yourself and another player. The effects on both of your stats will be devastating, but comparatively less so for your (un)lucky friend; who merely loses 200 CP per highway stat, whereas yours are halved.
* At any holiday where you can gain a [[Destiny]], visit [[An abyssal future]] and give the gift of {{IL|The Name}}. You are {{IL|Torment|Appearance=Tormented}}. That being said, there are no other penalties associated with gaining Destin's in this way, and you can freely change off of the destiny after receiving it (the same costs for getting another destiny apply) as soon as the next Destiny-granting holiday arrives.

==={{IL|St Erzulie's Candle}}===
[[File:Candlebloodred.png|right]]

'''Requires {{FontSMEN}} 42 and {{IL|St Destin's Candle}}'''. Go to the [[QUEEN OF INKS|Cave of the Nadir]] to meet a companion. To obtain the candle from her, you must become {{IL|Obscurity|Appearance=Obscure}}, permanently giving up the ability to have [[A Skin-Bound Memory:|Tattoos]], {{IL|Profession:|Appearance=Professions}}, {{IL|Notability}}, [[Ambitions]], and a [[Destiny]] besides {{IL|Torment}}. See [[Obscurity (Guide)]] for detailed information on what you might lose.

(Although [[(There is an alternative.)|you don't actually have to do any of that.]] You can simply acquire the candle with no penalties whatsoever. If you prefer. Nobody will ever know. Nobody but you.)

When all is done, you'll gain {{IL|St Erzulie's Candle}} and another level of {{FontSMEN}}.

==={{IL|St Fortigan's Candle}}===
[[File:Candlewhite.png|right]]

'''Requires {{FontSMEN}} 49, {{IL|St Cerise's Candle}}, and your own [[Ship]].''' From your lodgings, or on the Winking Isle, gain [[St Forthigan's Candle (Action)|a Book of Crimson Prayer]], then zail to [[The Chapel of Lights (Arriving at Port)|the Chapel of Lights]]. Attend six services to acquire the sixth candle and one level of {{FontSMEN}}.

==={{IL|St Gawain's Candle}}===
[[File:Candleeye.png|right]]

'''Requires {{FontSMEN}} 63, {{IL|St Cerise's Candle}}, and your own [[Ship]]'''. From the Seeking Road, ask your companion about [[St Gawain's Candle (The Seeking Road Storylet)|St Gawain's Candle]]. She will give you {{IL|The Hollow Heart|Appearance=her heart}}. [["Nothing is certain. Nothing is impossible." (Your Cabin)|Take it to zee]], as she requests, and you will learn that before going North, you must go [[Southwards|South]]. Entering this new area, you will meet another ally and gain a level of {{FontSMEN}}. You'll get two more if you [[Refuse soup]] when offered.

After this, you'll be brought to the Chapel of Lights. If you haven't been here before and don't have {{IL|St Fortigan's Candle}}, you'll need to gain that first. You'll return to your lodgings, where you may gain [[A Confounding Absence|the Book of Crimson Prayer]] from your companion and return to the Chapel of Lights. [[Attend a service at the Chapel, in the name of St Gawain]], and you will be prompted to make an offering. The first two options give the candle and a level of {{FontSMEN}}, while offering yourself gives three levels of {{FontSMEN}} and a new piece of headgear.

==[[NORTH]]==
With {{FontSMEN}} 77 and all the candles, you can make your [[Final Preparations]] from [[The Seeking Road]]. Once {{IL|Embarked on an Expedition to the North}}. you can never return; you will never be freed from the Name or the ills you suffered Seeking it. Your final destination is the {{IL|Avid Horizon}}, the way [[NORTH (Arriving at Port)|NORTH]]. Incidentally, your ship will be destroyed as you arrive. One more precious thing, gone forever. What does it matter, any more?

Or so it might seem, for you have one final chance to turn back. Those who do will find themselves home, with [[The Seven-Fold Knock|a unique item]], but [[The Seeking Road]] and its end are closed forever. You will have only stains and scars and trophies of a voyage that can never be completed.

Those who reach journey's end, and Knock, will at last have the chance to choose their Question. "What is due?" and "What is forgotten?" are available to anyone who has made it this far. Those who have seen {{IL|The Sun beneath the Sea?}} may also ask "Who is Salt?" In any case, each Question has an Answer, and each Answer is an Ending. A place you won't leave. Your character is gone forever.

Was it worth it? Only you can decide that. Goodbye, delicious friend.

===Turning Back===
Should you choose to turn back with with [[The Seven-Fold Knock|the unique item]], you will have the following permanent qualities:
*Any Level of {{IL|Obscurity}} you obtained.
*Any Level of {{IL|Reputation: Abomination:|Appearance=Reputation: Abomination}}
**This can be cleared slowly with {{IL|KNAVE OF REGRETS}}
*Your {{IL|Weeping Scar|7 x}}
**These can be cleared in [[Flute Street (Guide)]] for 23 actions and 10 {{FontFate}} each, as well as 10 {{FontFate}} to unlock Flute Street.
**The only post-Seeking usage for the Scars is for flavor text when you {{IL|Present yourself as something out of their nightmares}} during the {{IL|Brawling with Dockers (Guide)|Appearance=Brawling with Dockers Activity|Image=Fist.png}}.
*Your {{IL|Memory of Chains|7 x}}
*Your {{IL|Stain on Your Soul|7 x}}
**These can be cleared with the exceptional story, [[Flint]] for 120 {{FontFate}}.
With the exception of {{IL|Obscurity}} and {{IL|Stain on Your Soul}}, none of these qualities have any mechanical effects or consequences.

[[Category:Guides]]