The Wakeling's Pocket Guide to WIZARDscape

The Tragical History of Otto Proudfoot: Act IV

Scene: The Proudfoot home, for the most part furnished as in Act I. A body is lying on the central table, covered in a linen sheet. The workbenches and shelves are in disarray, their items thrown to the floor as someone searched.

Otto sits at his father’s table, examining the tools one by one. Some are discarded, others restored carefully to their place. Constable Henry enters, carrying a metal strongbox.

The Tragical History of Otto Proudfoot: Act III

Scene: The bower of Mistress Romana, owner of the bordello known as Turtle House. The left wall is occupied by an enormous bed, covered in silken fripperies. The back wall has a single door and a crowded vanity. The right wall is decorated with masks and sundries, and holds a high window open to the night sky. Otto is lying down on the bed, reading a book. Mistress Romana enters in an outlandish dancing costume, with high boots and corset.

The Tragical History of Otto Proudfoot: Act II

Scene: An elegant sitting room. A bookshelf covers one wall; the opposite wall holds a marble hearth inlaid with astrological symbols in semi-precious stones. Two comfortable leather chairs face the fire. The rear wall opens onto a hallway, as in the Proudfoot home. An odd skeleton hangs from the ceiling—some kind of animal, but nothing easily recognizable. As the curtain opens we see Ebard (Applejack) in a silk dressing-gown, pacing back and forth with an open book. His lips move, but we hear no sound. Suddenly, the fire in the hearth turns green and a puff of foul vapour rises up. There is a knock at the door.

The Tragical History of Otto Proudfoot: Act I

Scene: A townhouse interior. A cluttered workbench occupies the left-hand wall, holding various locks and pieces thereof; the wall above holds sundry files, chisels and hammers. The rear wall is hung with portraits, and is broken by a large archway. Beyond the arch, a narrow hall runs to the left and stairs lead up to the right. The right-hand wall holds a woman’s workbench, and is broken by a swinging door to the kitchen. A bookshelf above holds several pamphlets and a single thick tome. The centre of the room is occupied by a low oak table carved from a single bole.

As the lights come on, we see Otto as a child standing atop an unlikely and precarious stack, attempting to reach the tome. Pots clatter in the kitchen, and Otto’s father is pounding out a tumbler on his workbench. Otto reaches the tome, but loses his balance. The stack falls apart with a crash as Otto tumbles to the ground and scurries under the table.