Vault of the Whisperers

"What, do you think each whisperer just keeps all their secrets to themselves? They've got to do something with them, otherwise what do they do if someone succeeds in cutting off Grax's smarmy little head next time around? There's no way they'd let all that information just bleed out all over Mama Minotaur's good rug now, would they? No, the Vault has to be real."   "And supposin' we find it...what good do all these secrets do us? I mean, the Whisperers have a certain reputation, so people will are willing to pay them top coin. But we're just a couple of guys form the Shadows. Why would anyone pay good gold for what we claim are Whisperer secrets?"   "We're not going to set ourselves up as discount Whisperers, you ninny! We're going to find the secrets that lead us to unimaginable riches! The way into the Doorless Tower, the location of Tolva's Veil, every last ounce of blackmail material regarding the Governor Whoretit's last visit to Madame Xanthia's Pleasure Palace! The City will be ours!"   "Ah, I see what you mean now! Just one more question, though. How do you think they've got all of these secrets recorded? Are they written down?"   "Oh, almost certainly. Probably written down in some elaborate code that will...wait, do you know how to read?"   "Not a word. You?"   "Dammit."

Purpose / Function

Stories abound of secret vault where the League Of Whispers stores and catalogs all of the information that its agents gather while carrying out their duties. There's a general agreement that unlocking the secrets of the Vault of the Whisperers--if such a place exists--would lead to unimaginable wealth and power. The only problem is finding the vault, or even knowing where to look. Every tale that mentions the vault seems to place it in a different location. And while most tales assume that the vault is a large physical archive or library, there are some considerably more interesting speculations. Some common legends about the vault include:
  • The vault is contained in a secret underground library-fortress beneath the city and guarded by deaf-mute eunuchs trained from birth to protect the secrets of the Whisperers. 
  • The vault is a fortress located in some isolated and inaccessible place that Whisperers travel to and from through the use of magical portals hidden around the city. 
  • The vault is located in a pocket dimension that can only be reached by soulfaring.
  • The city itself is the Vault. The most important and eternal secrets about the city are encoded in its architecture and design. More ephemeral secrets are communicated through graffiti, topiary or even the arrangement of items in a particular market stall. Even Whisperers don't consciously notice most of the truths they are exposed to from just a short stroll around Khezvaros. 
  • The vault is not a place, it's a living being who can recall every secret that a Whisperer has ever spoken in its presence. Depending on the tale, this oracle may be a demon, a magically bound Gurjo the All-Seeing, or a one-eyed cat named Mittens. 
Owning Organization


Cover image: Main Header Banner City of Ten Thousand Daggers by Steve Johnson

Comments

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Dec 19, 2020 21:36

I like the idea that "the city itself is the Vault."

Dec 20, 2020 00:18 by Steve Johnson

I kind of stole it from Alan Moore (specifically From Hell).