- Violet Baudelaire: How do you know all this?
- Quigley Quagmire: I read it, in a book called Remarkable Phenomena of the Mortmain Mountains.
Remarkable Phenomena of the Mortmain Mountains is a book that hides secret passageways and passwords to V.F.D. Headquarters and was featured in Monty Montgomery's library.
Known Content[]
A hidden chapter in the book describes the Vertical Flame Diversions, which serve as a chimney and secret passageway in the small caves on the Mortmain Mountains to the Valley of Four Drafts, where a V.F.D. Headquarters stood. The Vertical Flame Diversions used to have metal poles in the center of the hole so people could slide down and hide in the cave during emergencies. Though the pole was taken out, carved toeholds in the sides of the passage remained, so climbing was still possible.
The chapter also provides a visual description of where in the passage to head in order to reach the Valley of Four Drafts; upon reaching the top of the Vertical Flame Diversion, two passages would be presented; to the left is a small area used for sled and snowsuit storage, and to the right the Vernacularly Fastened Door, which would open onto the headquarters' kitchen.
There is also a known segment in the hidden chapter on the Volunteer Feline Detectives, describing how they lived in the caves of the mountains and were trained to smell smoke. Their Latin name- Panthera leo- was also mentioned, which was a crucial key in one of the passwords through the Vernacularly Fastened Door.[1]
History[]
The book was kept in Monty Montgomery's library, and though Klaus Baudelaire noticed it,[1] he instead read books on Peru.[2]
After the abandonment of the house, Quigley Quagmire arrived through a tunnel and found the book, which drew his attention due to his cartography special interest. He found the hidden chapter and managed to get the information needed to get to VFD headquarters.[1]
Speculation[]
It is speculated that the book was the "important file" that Jacques Snicket attempted to find in Monty Montgomery's House, as he would have to reach the Valley of Four Drafts and use the information in the book to do so. Jacques had informed Quigley that he had to find the file to complete his investigation, but also later mentioned to Quigley that it was "very important to find" the Sugar Bowl; as it is known that the Sugar Bowl was thrown from VFD Headquarters into the Stricken Stream, and thus had previously been in that location,[3] it is possible that Jacques needed to reach the headquarters in order to retrieve the Sugar Bowl.
Appearances[]