Holmes221

In the Through the Breach book it references the Grave Spirit as a Whisperer. It is the name of the Magical Theory followed by Resurrectionists. Since the citizens of Malifaux by and large aren't aware of the Tyrants, I decided using it like this would make more since and add a bit of mystery. Especially since we are looking at this mostly from Abigail's point of view.

I am up and posted. Title: For Whom the Belle Tolls Ingredients: Theme: Six; Character: Beggar; Line: Did you ever truly love me (metaphorical) Hope you all enjoy it.

The tables were filled with miners just in from the train looking to spend some hard earned money on whiskey and women. Card games started up as the sunset blazed into the windows of “Destiny”, a little run down casino and brothel, on the edge of Malifaux’s eastern slums. It was pay day for the miners so the drinks were watered down and the girls were dolled up something nice in hopes of a good night’s work. A jingle played on the piano trying to keep the spirits high and the money flowing. Payday, it was Ace Tully’s favorite day of the month. Seats filled with drunk suckers who thought they could win a little money and extend their debauchery until it was time to load up on the train and head back to the mines. Of course, Ace was willing to bait that trap and squeeze these idiots for everything they had. Then, he would slip out to next ratty shack that hosted cards and do it all again. “Two Pair.” “Huh,” Ace was surprised, he put down his hand showing only a pair of sevens, and forced a fake smile, “Can’t win ‘em all I guess.” His opponent’s response was drowned out by the noise of the saloon as Ace’s attention slipped to the blonde woman standing on the staircase. He wasn’t one for paid company but this woman was different; long curly hair the color of corn silk, eyes as blue as ocean waves, and a figure that would be envied by any woman on either side of The Breach. She was new, she had to be, Ace frequented every house of cards in the disreputable areas of the city, and he would have noticed her had she shown up before now. “Hey, Hey,” growled the miner who won the last round. “What?” is the only thing Ace could manage. “Your bet there, Hotshot.” But Ace wasn’t looking at the dirt covered gambler. The woman had caught his eye, as she flashed him a knowing smile. Her hand eloquently waved through the air as she beckoned him to her. Almost as if he were hypnotized Ace rose from his seat, leaving his cards and his chips sitting where they lay. “I’m out, boys. Enjoy the game.” He muttered as he passed by never taking his eyes from the blonde vision before him. As Ace approached the stairs the blonde smiled and blew him a seductive kiss and began climbing the stairs. She kept him just out of reach as he was led, as if on reigns, to her room. He shut the door behind him, and looked at this vision. She had sat on the bed, leaning back suggestively with her legs crossed high on her thighs exposing the milky white skin under her classy skirt. “I’m Abigail, sweetheart” she said in a voice that melted his will, “What’s your name?” “Mike… Mike Tully, people call me Ace,” he managed to stutter out. “Well, Mike, you look stressed. Let me help you relax a little bit.” She pulled him down to sit on the bed, his back against her chest. She removed his tie and slid her hand down into his shirt. His chest warmed at her touch. She began to kiss his neck. He closed his eyes to enjoy the sensation. The anticipation of the event over took him and Ace opened his eyes. He looked down at his shirt and a dark red liquid had begun to soak through. He tried to scream but his voice wouldn’t work, falling off the bed heavily he grabbed his throat and looked up at Abigail; she was sitting calmly on the bed with a scalpel in her hand watching him choke to death on his own life’s blood, a seductive smile on her face as she wiped her blonde curls out of her eyes. By the time the sun rose the Guild had blocked off the entrance to Destiny and begun questioning the employees. Abigail watched as guards, officers, and investigators came and went with varying degrees of exhaustion and frustration on their faces. At her window table in the bed and breakfast just three buildings down the street, she watched with a mixture of amusement and anxiety. Everyone inside was staring at the spectacle too and it was all anyone was talking about, so she was certain she didn’t appear to be gawking too much. Only a week had passed since she had come through the breach and in that time she had killed three men. Never in her life Earthside had Abigail even thought about taking another person’s life, and after the first one, she had thought she would feel a tremendous pull of regret. But, surprisingly, that guilt had never come. She knew the men that she had killed were filth; perhaps that is why she was so comfortable with her actions. The whispers that told her about these men, about what they had done, had come to her the first night of her arrival Breachside. At first she thought she had gone crazy, but as it kept talking she realized that was an impossibility. It knew things she didn’t; whispered to her people’s secrets; shared its insight. Now she coveted its instruction, devoted herself to its desires and waited with anticipation for the day it would fulfil its promise to teach her the ways of immortality. It only required that she end one more life. Two days later the Whisper spoke again to tell Abigail about a Guild Captain named Boyd Murphy. He testified, falsely, about a situation that led to the execution of an innocent man. She followed behind Murphy now, at a distance she thought he couldn’t possibly see her. Lost in thought she absentmindedly dropped a few Guild Scrip to a beggar as she passed him, sitting in mud just off the porch of a General Store. She cared deeply for the needy, which was the primary motivation for her studying nursing, and coincidentally had brought her to Malifaux on a Guild contract that she had promptly ignored. Turning a corner into an ally, Abigail was stopped abruptly by the imposing figure of Captain Murphy. He stood facing her no more than two strides away his Peacebringer drawn but not aimed. She cursed herself for thinking too much of the past, of losing herself to fantasies of the future. In the present is where her mind belonged, and the sound of the Peacebringer’s Hammer being drawn back shocked her to it. “Ma’am, do you mind telling me why you’re...” The whisper’s voice slammed into Abigail’s mind, “Kill him now!” Abigail lunged forward with no thought except to fulfill the command. Elation swelled in her as she felt her scalpel pierce his neck and saw the arterial flow sprayed heavy onto the wall next to her. She heard the gun fire as both of them fell to the ground from the impact of her thrust. She pulled herself up and began to walk down the alley to escape to the next street, but her leg screamed with pain and she collapsed once again on top of the Guild Captain as he struggled to slow the loss of blood that continued to pump from his neck. Hearing the shouts and running foot falls of more Guild Guards approaching, Abigail pulled herself up and tried to once more to make her escape. She saw the wound in her leg, the entry of the bullet just above her knee. As a nurse, she knew that the leg would hold no weight. Lumbering against the wall she tried to make her way out the back of the alley but she was too slow. Three guards ran into the backstreet with their weapons drawn. “Get on the ground, Now.” Abigail counted her blessings that they didn’t shoot first. She raised her hands as best she could while leaning on the wall and attempting to turn the face the armed men. “Kill them,” The whisper said with glee in her mind. “I can’t…my leg.” She thought. “Do it now.” “I surrender.” She said allowed to the Guards, as her leg gave out and she crumbled to the ground. One of the Guild Guards approached and shackled Abigail as the other two kept their weapons on her. When the metal touched her skin, she could feel the strength of the Whisperer leave her. She began to cry, not from the pain, but from the loss of the one friend she had made since coming through the breach. Dong. The bell from the clock tower chimed bringing Abigail out of the stupor she was in. The last few days had gone too quickly. Dong. A quick trip to the doctor, a mockery of a trail and two days in a cell on bread and water. Dong. Now here she was standing on a small ladder with a hood over her face and a noose around her neck. Dong. She was scared to die. Amazingly, she realized she never considered this as an outcome as she killed those men. Dong. Through the hood she saw the faintest bit of sunlight crest over the city. Dong. At least she got to see the sunrise on last time. Dirt crusted hands pried off the coffin lid and exposed Abigail’s corpse. She lay there, serene in death as she was in her last moments. Her skin the color of porcelain and her neck angled unnaturally. The two women who dug her up climbed out of the hole in the pauper’s cemetery. The stockings on their legs ripped as they fumble to climb out of the shallow grave, one forgot her high priced parasol as well. Then they shambled away no longer seeming interested. A well-dressed man in a large top hat jumped into the open grave with a thump. With a debonair flurry he removed his hat and bowed. “Hello, lass. I was quite impressed by you, for sure. Not every ol’ girl can get the Guild in a tizzy like you did, eh? Couldn’t let such a lass go to waste, now could I?” Placing his hat over his heart the man spoke as if ashamed, “I apologize, dearie. Where are me manners? I am Seamus. Of course, there’ll be plenty of time for introductions l’ter.” With the same flare he stood upright and returned his hat to his head. “But, first, let’s make you pretty.”

So, participating in this has made me realize how little 1,750 words actually is.

I will be joining the race as well.

I apologize. I reread my post and it did come off as hostile, that wasn't my intent.

Well with someone from the staff further explaining the mechanic, your confusion should be ended. Also the fact that the both in Malifaux and TTB a damage flip is not actually a part of the duel this should be self explanatory. I am not saying that the wording could have been more clear, simply that with the description of the basic rules in the book as a guideline and the further details provided by Mason that your confusion should be cleared up.

Lamby, this is fantastic. You should market them.