(fallen london stamps by after coming back to some degree of sanity, the doctor was looking for a new place to live - despite Rafael's and Felix's assurances that they'd be glad to have him indefinitely, he wanted to be a little further out than Veilgarden, somewhere closer to people who'd be in need and somewhere further from neighbors who'd complain about him setting things on fire with mad science.
he eventually moved into a place at the edge of Watchmaker's Hill. it was a little dilapidated and the surrounding area had been overtaken by marsh, which meant that sometimes you'd be woken up in the middle of the night by marsh-wolves howling or carnivorous fungi trying to eat you, but it was spacious and it was solitary and it was his.
well. not really.
it turned out that the real reason no one lived there (besides the nocturnal fungus attacks) was the rats. there was a whole clan of Rattus Faber that had moved into the place after it was abandoned to the marsh post-Fall - something the deed for the place hadn't mentioned.
to their surprise, when the doctor found out, he apologized profusely for the intrusion and asked if he could stay for a few days while he looked for another place to live, in exchange for a good sum of rostygold and biscuits. the rats were completely taken aback by his reaction - they'd been expecting another attempt at evicting them. they agreed.
the doctor, however, ended up being unexpectedly useful. (it turns out that certain judicious sigils, inscribed carefully around the perimeter of the house, were effective at warding off both carnivorous fungi and more mundane-but-still-deadly mold.) so the rats were like, hey, you're pretty cool actually, and maybe having a human living here will prevent other humans from trying to live here? how about this: you help us fix the place up and maintain it, and we'll share residence of this place.
the doctor, of course, was delighted to oblige! and with their combined efforts and the help of some other friends, they made it into a very nice place to live - and to do mad science - indeed.
