Royal Academy of Music

Location Overview

The Royal Academy of Music at Fitzrovia (near Tottenham Court Road) serves as the source of student recruitment for the Orphean Society. Bellamy posed as a student auditing classes here; Clara Fen was a student before her expulsion; multiple victims were “loaned” to the Society for “special advancement.”

Although the historical Royal Academy of Music wasn’t formally founded until 1822, for this Regency-era campaign, we present it as a prestigious institution patronized by elite sponsors, granting scholarships to talented youth from all social classes.

Exterior Description

The Academy occupies a fine three-story brick building set behind wrought iron fencing and flanked by pollarded trees. The brick is a dark, clean red, with large multipaned windows and keystoned arches above each lintel. Gas lanterns hang beneath a white portico bearing the name:

“The Royal Academy of Music – Est. 1794”

Carriages often idle along the front walk, and strains of violin or voice occasionally drift from the rehearsal wing.

Interior Description

Upon entering, the front lobby is airy, well-lit, and freshly waxed, with a polished checkered floor and arched hallways leading deeper into the institution.

• A reception desk sits to the right, manned by a junior clerk. Marble busts of Handel, Purcell, and Gluck rest in alcoves, watching over all with solemn serenity.
• The main corridor leads to classrooms, administrative offices, and two large rehearsal chambers.
• The upper floor houses student practice rooms and faculty quarters.
• In the rear lies a small theatre, used for recitals and vocal exhibitions.

There is a faint odor of varnish, lavender oil, and chalk dust.

Access & Social Mechanics

The Academy is a private institution, but visitors may enter during business hours if they appear respectable and state an acceptable reason.

Investigators may enter if they: * Pose as patrons, relatives, or representatives of a musical society (Credit Rating / Charm) * Use Bellamy’s name or connection to a student (Persuade) * Present a recovered recital program or invitation (no roll needed) * Attempt a bribe or stealth approach (Risk of being removed or watched)

Records and student lists are kept in Registrar Lang’s office, behind a locked door. * Library Use or Charm may reveal old recital bills, attendance lists, or term records * A Hard Library Use or a bribe may uncover discreet withdrawal records, showing Clara Fen departed suddenly due to “vocal trauma”

Investigation Opportunities

Access Requirements:

• Credit Rating (Hard): Permits interview with administrators
• Fast Talk (Hard): Bypasses some restrictions
• Bribery: Modest sums convince staff to share information

Information Available:

• Student rosters showing which students were referred to the Orphean Society
• Records of Clara Fen’s expulsion after a “ruptured tone incident”
• List of students “loaned” to the Society for advanced instruction
• Rumors of experimental vocal tuning and mysterious student disappearances
• Records showing “auditing” students (Bellamy’s cover identity)
• Recital programs and performance attendance records

Key NPCs:

• Phineas Lang (registrar): 48, maintains records; protective of Academy reputation

NPC: Phineas Lang – Registrar & Vocal Tutor

• Name, Age, Profession: Mr. Phineas Lang, 48, Registrar and Vocal Tutor at the Royal Academy of Music

Links to the Adventure

• Taught Clara Fen, and aware of her vocal collapse
• Has seen Bellamy (Isabel Grey) in lessons
• Keeps the student roster and vocal performance records
• May refer to private “conditioning” sessions funded by the Orphean Society, if pressed

Summary

Mr. Lang is a master of voice and theory, well-respected in elite musical circles but worn thin by years of institutional politics. He prides himself on recognizing talent and cultivating it—but is deeply shaken by what happened to Clara Fen. Though not a member of the Orphean Society, he was approached by them and reluctantly allowed select students to participate in their rehearsals, believing it an honour.

Description

Mr. Lang is short, compact, and perpetually overdressed in dark frock coats and cravats. His thinning black hair is combed over his temples, and his pince-nez is never quite clean. His voice is precise, clipped, and brittle, as though spoken through his teeth. Ink stains dot his cuffs and his breath often smells faintly of Madeira.

Traits

• Scrupulous but riddled with guilt
• Deep love of classical structure and harmony
• Believes the voice is a mirror to the soul
• Will not admit to mistakes unless absolutely cornered

Combat Stats (CoC 7e)

Skills

Roleplaying Hooks

• Softens with compliments to his pupils or historical composers
• Initially evasive about Clara Fen—requires successful Charm, Credit Rating, or appeal to duty
• May reveal: “Clara said… the music had voices beneath it. Said she could feel something opening in her throat. It wasn’t pain. It was… awe.”
• Can offer recital bills or outdated seating charts that lead to further names (e.g., other students lost to the rituals)

How Investigators Know to Visit

Mission Briefing from Lady Honoria

During the mission introduction, Lady Honoria explicitly states that Agent Imogen Bellamy (alias Isabel Grey) was planted under musical scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music, and that she had begun attending private rehearsals connected to the Orphean Society.

“She was placed within the Royal Academy to observe the Society’s vocal conditioning program. She received invitations to special rehearsals. Her last known location was her Bloomsbury lodgings.”

This makes the Academy one of two first-tier investigative locations, along with Bellamy’s flat.

How They Find the Student Roster

Bellamy’s Flat: Clue Discovery

If they search Bellamy’s rooms, they may find:

• Her admission letter (bearing the Academy seal)
• A printed programme of student recitals, listing names (including Clara Fen and other deceased students)
• A torn diary page (already created) where she names Clara by name and mentions her decline

On-Site at the Academy

Once at the Academy:

• If the investigators approach as concerned relatives, former acquaintances, or music patrons, they may be given access to student rolls or recital records with a successful Charm, Fast Talk, or Credit Rating roll.
• With a suitable social skill, they may convince a junior clerk or music master to discreetly allow access to the current term’s roster, or to let them sit in on a class and observe who’s no longer present.

Alternatively, investigators could:

• Pose as music agents, searching for gifted sopranos.
• Drop Lady Lyndhurst’s name, if using their Order authority discreetly.
• Attempt bribery or subterfuge to access the faculty offices or rehearsal notes.

How They Learn About Clara Fen’s Vocal Rupture

Interview with Academy Vocal Tutor

One of Clara’s former instructors, Mr. Phineas Lang, remembers her vividly.

If the investigators:

• Ask about Clara Fen
• Or present her name (from Bellamy’s notes or the student roll)
• Or show her notebook (if acquired from the pawnshop)

…then with Persuade, Charm, or Psychology, Mr. Lang may reveal:

“Miss Fen was a remarkable talent. Perfect pitch. Extraordinary timbre. But something… broke. Not in the throat, but deeper. She fainted in the middle of an arietta. Never returned. Left a week later. No forwarding address. Some said… she was afraid of her own voice.”

Summary of Investigation Flow

Appearances