Ratholm

Ratholm is a location in Wellington Wells, as well as the only island that does not connect to the rest of Wellington Wells.

It is exclusive to Sally Boyle's Act.

Overview[]

Ratholm is a small, isolated island located far away from the Garden District, Parade District and Hamlyn Village. The island likely gets its named from the story of the Pied Piper, one that Uncle Jack told the citizens of Wellington Wells. The Piper, along with the rats that follow him, appear as a statue on the island.

Due to a combination of factors, the island is engulfed in vented joy gas, making it inhospitable to seemingly everyone except wastrels infected with the plague.

Other than the statue, other notable landmarks on the island include an abandoned shed, two old maintenance tunnel connections, and a secret laboratory formerly operated by Anton Verloc.

Hatches[]

There are two hatches that lead to Ratholm, both of which the player can get to from anywhere. One is further away from the abandoned lab while the other is closer to the lab, in case the player wants to go and fetch some more toxic waste, they can take the hatch closest to their destination.

In the first hatch there is a secret path to the lavatories. There, the player will find the bloodied wastrel, Mrs. Turner, nailing organs and strange meat to the wall. There are loads of health items and bangers for the player to gather, so long as they get rid of Mrs. Turner first.

There is nothing of interest inside the second hatch.

Layout[]

The island is structured similarly to the Garden District: hilly, with some trees. The entire area is covered in thick, green fog that makes it difficult to see what's up ahead. Because of this, it's advised that players traverse the area carefully, and hide wherever they can so as to avoid alerting the Plague Wastrels patrolling the land.

Point of Interest[]

A small facility to the right of the hatch the player enters through with a radio blaring Uncle Jack's distorted voice. It can be entered from the roof vent.
A small, abandoned shelter to the left of the hatch the player enters through. It containst the following:
- 1x Bigger Banger
- x1 Healing Balm
- 1x Lockpick
- x1 Moldy Bread
- 2x Pure Water
- 2x Victory Meat
- x1 Rotten Apple
- x3 Rotten Potato
Two hatches, one is in closer proximity to Anton's abandoned lab.
Twelve hidden Crates. (one inside of the hidden shelter)
A Cave behind the second hatch, there are three matresses inside.

Associated Quests[]

Ratholm (Quest)

History[]

May 12th, 1963[]

Sometime prior to this date, a number of Haworth Labs' employees quit over having to work on Ratholm, believing that the Joy Factory's waste water causes plague. In response to this, Dr. Verloc wrote a letter to the Waste Pump Supervisor, Jimmy Cardigan, expressing his dismay over this, bashing Mr. Cardigan in the process for not being a 'good' supervisor.

Mr. Cardigan had previously spoken to Verloc about how he believed that testing the waste water's effects on wastrels was 'unethical.' Verloc refuted the claim, and states that 'had Cardigan conducted the tests, perhaps the workers would not have quit.'

September 12th, 1964[]

According to an old tape left behind in the laboratory, an experiment on an unnamed Downer from the village was conducted.

An unnamed doctor administered what may have been one of the many incarnations of Coconut Joy to the woman, however, based on the correspondences found in the lab between Dr. Verloc and Jimmy Cardigan, it's most likely a sample of the Joy Factory's wastewater.

Despite being strapped down, the woman broke free from her restraints and overpowered the doctor, forcing him to drink some of the concoction.

The island, presumably, was abandoned shortly after the incident.

October 12th, 1964[]

A month after the incident, former Haworth Labs employee Sally Boyle travelled to Ratholm to get some of the toxic waste water for her Blackberry Joy.

At this point, it would seem Cardigan's worst fears had come to life: the entire Holm had been overrun with poisonous gas, and plague-infested wastrels roamed the abandoned streets, with no guards or anything on the entire island. Boyle was thus forced to fight her way to the derelict laboratory.

When Boyle eventually reached the lab, she commented on how the lab was kept a secret from many, including her. A leak in the large pipes that protruded around the island was seen as ideal by Sally to extract the water from, but it was locked down by a security keycard. Sally gets inside the laboratory, discovering locked-away plague wastrels, an old tape recounting an experiment that got out of control, and many deceased scientists.

After retrieving the keycard from one of the fallen scientists, Sally was able to unlock the door and haphazardly pour the waste water into some canteens. Later, she'd combine the waste water with other items to create Mercury Amalgam, a key ingredient in Blackberry Joy.

Trivia[]

The exact name of the island changes in the various game files from "Ratholm" and "Rat Holm."
- The former appears more often, however.
- A statue of the Piped Piper leading away rats can be found on the island. This is reference to the original fairy tale, about a village having their children taken from them for not paying him for getting rid of all the rats.
- The promo videos have Uncle Jack reading the same bedtime story.
Ratholm is unique, as it is not connected to the rest of the archipelago that makes up Wellington Wells via bridge anywhere, though it is connected via maintenance tunnel.
The phonograph in the first hatch is playing a slowed down and distorted version of Kat's Song, originating from the first game Compulsion Games created, Contrast.
The island's fate can be seen as another testament to Verloc's arrogance. Though one of his employees tried to warn him about the toxic water, he refused to believe him, insisting that there was no way the water could cause plague.
An abandoned shed located near the laboratory has the same eerie 'Uncle Jack' tune that Arthur Hastings hears shortly before escaping the Doctors' headquarters in Apple Holm, though here it is playing on repeat until the player shuts it off, while the latter only happens for a brief moment.